A first ever study of wartime “deepfake” videos has found the fake content undermined viewers’ trust in conflict footage to the point they became critical of all footage coming from warzones. The study, from researchers at University College Cork (UCC), is also the first of its kind to find evidence of online conspiracy theories which incorporate deepfakes. Deepfakes are artificially manipulated audio-visual material. Most deepfake videos involve the production of a fake “face” constructed by Artificial Intelligence, that is merged with an authentic video, in order to create a video of an event that never really took place. Although fake, they can look convincing and are often produced to imitate or mimic an individual. The study, titled A new type of weapon in the propaganda war, analysed close to 5,000 tweets on X (formerly Twitter) in the first seven months of 2022 to explore how people react to deepfake content online. The Russia-Ukraine war presented as the first real-life example of deepfakes being used in warfare. The researchers highlight examples of deepfake videos during this war including the use of video game footage as evidence of the urban myth fighter pilot “The Ghost of Kyiv”, and a deepfake of Russian president Vladimir Putin, showing the Russian president announcing peace with Ukraine. The study found deepfakes often undermined users’ trust in the footage they were receiving from the conflict to the point where they lost trust in any footage viewed. As well as the threat coming from the fake content itself, researchers found genuine media contact was being labelled as deepfakes. The study showed that the lack of social media literacy led to significant misunderstandings of what constitutes a deepfake, however, the study also demonstrated that efforts to raise awareness around deepfakes may undermine trust in legitimate videos. Therefore, the study asserts, news media and governmental agencies need to weigh the benefits of educational deepfakes and pre-bunking against the risks of undermining truth. John Twomey, UCC researcher, said much of the misinformation analysed in the study “surprisingly came from the labelling of real media as deepfakes”. “Novel findings about deepfake scepticism also emerged, including a connection between deepfakes fuelling conspiratorial beliefs and unhealthy scepticism,” he said. “The evidence in this study shows that efforts to raise awareness around deepfakes may undermine our trust in legitimate videos. “With the prevalence of deepfakes online, this will cause increasing challenges for news media companies who should be careful in how they label suspected deepfakes in case they cause suspicion around real media.” Mr Twomey added: “News coverage of deepfakes needs to focus on educating people on what deepfakes are, what their potential is, and both what their current capabilities are and how they will evolve in the coming years”. Dr Conor Linehan, from UCC’s School of Applied Psychology, said researchers “have long feared that deepfakes have the potential to undermine truth”. “Deepfake videos could undermine what we know to be true when fake videos are believed to be authentic and vice versa,” he said. This study is part of broader work by UCC’s School of Applied Psychology examining the psychological impact of deepfakes. Read More More than 500 potential cyber attacks logged every second, BT says AI being used to create child abuse imagery, watchdog warns ChatGPT and other chatbots ‘can be tricked into making code for cyber attacks’ Tinder adds Matchmaker feature to let friends recommend potential dates Google and Meta withdraw from upcoming Web Summit ‘Game-changing’ facial recognition technology catches prolific shoplifters

Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner refuses to meet Intel Corp's demands for higher subsidies for its chip plant

By Paul Lienert and Joseph White DETROIT General Motors has signaled in a series of recent announcements on

Wuhan, the largest city in central China, has publicly demanded that hundreds of local companies repay their debts, in an extremely rare move that highlights the dire financial situation facing many of the country's municipal governments amid economic uncertainty.

WASHINGTON & TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 8, 2023--

Several classic Game Boy Advance are coming to Nintendo Switch, but they will only be available to Expansion Pass subscribers.

Marcus Smith has been backed by Harlequins teammate Joe Marler to thrive on the international stage after being named as full-back for England's World Cup...

There are still three places in the Euro 2024 finals up for grabs following the end of the group-stage of the qualifying campaign. Wales could yet join England and Scotland in the hat for the Euro 2024 draw, but Rob Page’s side will need to navigate the play-offs if they are to reach a fourth major tournament in eight years. That’s because Wales finished behind Turkey and Croatia in qualifying from Group D, but the Dragons have been afforded a second-chance thanks to their performance in the Uefa Nations League. Wales are guaranteed a home semi-final after taking their place in play-off ‘Path A’ - but Thursday’s draw will determine who they face in March’s play-off rounds, while Poland and Robert Lewandowski could be waiting in the final. Here’s everything you need to know. Who has qualified for Euro 2024? Pot 1: Germany (hosts), Portugal, France, Spain, Belgium, England Pot 2: Hungary, Turkey, Romania, Denmark, Albania, Austria Pot 3: Netherlands, Scotland, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic Pot 4: Italy, Serbia, Switzerland, Play-off winner A*, Play-off winner B*, Play-off winner C* Who could still qualify? Semi-finals – Path A: Poland (1) vs Estonia (4) / Wales (2) vs TBC* Semi-finals – Path B: Israel (1) vs TBC* / Bosnia and Herzegovina (2) vs TBC* Semi-finals – Path C: Georgia (1) vs Luxembourg (4) / Greece (2) vs Kazakhstan (3) TBC* = one of Finland, Ukraine or Iceland How do the Euro 2024 play-offs work? There is still space for three teams to join the Euro 2024 draw, with three separate ‘paths’ offering those sides who qualified for the play-offs a way into the tournament finals. There will be six semi-finals on 21 March 2024 and three finals on 26 March, with the winning teams entering the Euro 2024 group stage. When is the play-off draw? This will be held from 11am GMT on Thursday 23 November. The only thing to draw is which side from Finland, Ukraine or Iceland goes into ‘Path A’ and which of the other two go into ‘Path B’. The draw will also determine which winner of the semi-final hosts the play-off final. *If Finland are allocated to Path B by the draw, as the higher-ranked team they would play Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whichever of Ukraine or Iceland are allocated to Path B would play top-ranked Israel. If Ukraine and Iceland are both allocated to Path B, the higher-ranked Ukraine would play Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iceland would play Israel. Read More What time is the Euro 2024 draw and what are the pots? Euro 2024 draw: Top seeds England could face Scotland and Wales What are Scotland’s best and worst scenarios in the Euro 2024 draw? What are England’s best and worst case scenarios in Euro 2024 draw? Euro 2024: The cheapest ways to follow England and Scotland in Germany next summer Why winless Iceland are in Euro 2024 play-offs and 10-point Norway are not

The key takeaways from Real Madrid's La Liga victory over Barcelona in El Clasico, including Jude Bellingham's influence, Gavi's excellence and Vinicius Junior's understandable petulance.

Walmart is the latest company to join the glowing flock of major advertisers to pull spending from X, Elon Musk’s beleaguered social media company, amid concerns about hate speech — as well as reaching a sizeable audience on the platform

The lives of hundreds of students at a small university in West Virginia have been turned upside down after the school announced just before the start of fall classes that it plans to cease operations

Asia took over the baton from Wall Street to see a rally in weight-loss related stocks after a