When you sat in the theater to watch “The Rise of Skywalker” you saw General Leia Organa. What you didn’t see was Carrie Fisher. She died in December 2016. The principle shooting for “The Rise of Skywalker” didn’t start until August of 2018.
The producers explain how they brought Carrie Fisher back to the big screen.
Comedian Jordan Peele often imitated President Obama. Thanks to AI, Jordan could make Obama say whatever he wanted. And you probably wouldn’t have noticed.
This one is scary. Deep fakers can take your image and have you say whatever they want. It’s so convincing that a major corporation lost millions of dollars.
How to spot deep fakes or A.I. generated material
There are several ways for you to spot deep fakes. It takes a bit of media literacy, starting with the idea that “Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true.”
Do some fact checking
The first thing to do is to ask yourself, “Has someone already fact checked this?” There are many reliable fact checking sites. Here’s a few..
Pulitzer Prize winning site run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times (Florida) newspaper.
Run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The center acts as a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters.
Run by the Center for Responsive Politics. It’s a premier research group that is nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit.
Run by the “Truth Squad” at the Washington Post.
One of the granddaddy sites focusing on myths, rumors, and other misinformation. (It’s where I checked to see if the “Tourist Guy” was real or a hoax.
The Poynter Institute is a global nonprofit well known by journalists. The Institute’s goal is to strengthen democracy by improving the relevance, ethical practice and value of journalism.
Look for the original source
To add credibility to what you’re saying, it’s smart to cite sources. But just because someone cites a source, it doesn’t mean it’s valid. Sometimes, they will cite a source, but twist the content. Or, they may cite a source that doesn’t even exist.
Go to the source cited and see if it even exists. If it does, check to see if what the source says is what’s being stated in the information your checking.
For pictures you can use Google’s reverse image program
Read Laterally
(That means from more than one source)
What are other people and/or news organizations saying about the story. Are they all reporting essentially the same thing? If no one is reporting it, chances are it’s not valid. (That’s not always true, but it is most of the time.)
Terri’s bit of wisdom
If you’re looking for information, look for one of the more reliable/balanced sources. Don’t tune into CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, OAN, or any of those “news channels.” While they have their place, these channels deal in opinion and speculation. There may be some validity to what’s being said, but mostly it’s the channel feeding the kind of news their audience wants. It’s called confirmation bias.
Circle back
Basically this means stop any confusing rabbit holes you get sucked into. Look for new information.
Just follow some basic common sense
Trump sending Michelle Obama a huge bill for purchases she made while in the White House?Would a legit news organization capitalize words that shouldn’t be capitalized? Would a legit news organization write long, rambling sentences? Would a legit news organization use a term like “Eleventy billion dollars?” This post raises a lot of red flags for me.
Denzel switching parties?
The words in the text just don’t sound like the way Denzel talks. The picture looks a little sketchy to me as well. And no, Denzel did not switch parties. The post’s origins come from a satirical piece written for bustatroll.org. The organization says it posts things like this story to provoke conservatives. (This is a case of lateral reading. If you’d gone to the original source, you’d learn this isn’t true.)
Terri’s embarassing story where she actually believed a hoax
While I preach media literacy and rant about how easy it is to figure out if something’s fake, the University of Oregon pulled one over on me back on April 1, 2016.
They posted this story to the Duck Athletic page. (Click on the link. It’s all about going to the original source!)
My son, a graduate of the Knight School of Law at the University of Oregon, posted the video to his Facebook page. I clicked on it and couldn’t believe what I saw. The Ducks were tearing up their football field in order to replace it with a special AstroTurf that included LED lights. Basically, they could light up the field whenever the Ducks scored a touchdown. The field would light up to show how many yards to the first down. I watched the 60-second video (see below) and couldn’t believe what I saw. The Ducks are known for their progressive use of technology. So, I. WAS. HOOKED. (The video only runs a minute. Watch it. See if it sets off any red flags for you.)
I was so convinced this was true I even posted the video on our CentralNewsWatch “secret” Facebook page. I then suggest the sports reporters get comments from Central’s coaches and players about how that type of field would change the game.
BUT… in the back of my mind I was thinking….
- How could the NCAA approve such a thing? When my crew ran the stadium scoreboard at Weber State we were restricted on how many replays we could show. And if a call was under review we were restricted from showing it on the board while the refs conferred.
- If, when the Ducks scored a touchdown, the field would light up, wouldn’t the Ducks have to create a graphic for their opponents touchdowns?
- Would the movement of the LED lights distract the players?
- The pictures of heavy equipment tearing up the field looked a lot like the pictures they Ducks posted when they really did tear up the field several years ago.
Well, I should have followed my own advice about Internet hoaxes. Turns out the Duck’s LED football field was all a very elaborate April Fool’s prank. In fact, Fox Sports called it the best April Fool’s prank in college football.
Talking with my son afterward, he said he got pulled into the story until he saw the company installing the system was a subsidiary of Globex Corporation of Cyprus Creek. He recognized as a reference to an episode of The Simpsons.
My CNW Sports guys teased me forever for being suckered into such a prank! But you have to admit, the Ducks did a good job making it look real and playing into their reputation for being a premiere football program.
BBC to the rescue
The British Broadcasting Corporation recognizes the pervasiveness of A.I. Go back to our Canvas Home Page and look for the BBC: AI or Real? assignment.