Paris & Donovan (2019)

web

datasociety.net·datasociety.net/library/deepfakes-and-cheap-fakes/

A foundational policy-oriented report from Data & Society relevant to AI governance discussions about synthetic media, misinformation, and the erosion of epistemic trust in audiovisual content.

Metadata

Importance: 62/100organizational reportanalysis

Summary

This Data & Society report by Paris and Donovan examines the spectrum of manipulated media, from sophisticated AI-generated deepfakes to simpler 'cheap fakes' produced with basic editing tools. It analyzes how these technologies threaten the integrity of audiovisual evidence and public trust in media. The report provides a framework for understanding media manipulation and its political and social consequences.

Key Points

•Introduces the concept of 'cheap fakes'—manipulated media created with accessible tools like slowing/speeding video—alongside AI-generated deepfakes
•Argues that low-tech manipulations may pose equal or greater societal risk than deepfakes due to their accessibility and plausible deniability
•Examines how manipulated media undermines trust in authentic audiovisual evidence, creating an 'liar's dividend' for bad actors
•Provides a taxonomy of media manipulation techniques ranging from simple decontextualization to full synthetic generation
•Calls for platform accountability, media literacy interventions, and policy responses to address manipulated media at scale

Cited by 1 page

Page	Type	Quality
AI-Driven Legal Evidence Crisis	Risk	43.0

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