Facebook Bans ‘Misleading’ Deepfakes

Facebook is addressing deepfakes and other types of manipulated media (via Facebook)

Facebook is cracking down on deepfake videos and manipulated media ahead of the 2020 U.S. election.

The social network will remove “misleading” content that has been edited or synthesized using artificial intelligence or machine learning in ways that an average user can not easily spot.

“While these videos are still rare on the internet, they present a significant challenge for our industry and society as their use increases,” Monika Bickert, vice president of Facebook’s global policy management, wrote in a blog post.

These changes come as Bickert prepared to testify at a congressional hearing this week on “manipulation and deception in the digital age,” The Washington Post reported.

The new policy, however, does not cover all doctored videos: Content deemed parody or satire is excused, as are clips edited solely to omit or change the order of words.

Last year’s viral video of Speaker Nancy Pelosi—modified to make her appear drunk during a public appearance—does not appear to fit Facebook’s new guidelines, according to the Post.

Neither does a recent recording of former VP and presidential hopeful Joe Biden, which was heavily trimmed to make him sound racist.

Content that doesn’t directly meet removal standards may instead be verified by third-party fact checkers; if rated false or partly false, it gets labeled, demoted, and rejected from ads.

“If we simply removed all manipulated videos flagged by fact-checkers as false, the videos would still be available elsewhere on the internet or social media ecosystem,” Bickert explained. “By leaving them up and labelling them as false, we’re providing people with important information and context.”

Facebook’s Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications Nick Clegg in September revealed that politicians are “exempt” from independent fact checking.

“We don’t believe that it’s an appropriate role for us to referee political debates and prevent a politician’s speech from reaching its audience and being subject to public debate and scrutiny,” Clegg said.

It’s unclear where the company falls on legislators sharing deepfakes.

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