Nearly every American has heard the term, “Fake News,” but do we really understand how much it affects us? The idea of photo and video manipulation, deep fakes, and lazy journalism can make a person question everything that is reported.
In this world, how can we trust anything anyone says without seeing it with our own eyes? I often have had these thoughts since before the 2016 election in which President Trump was elected, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized how problematic it can be.
In an article dated October 2019 by Victoria Kwan, she discusses the idea of responsible reporting in the age of information disorder. Until I read this article, I had no idea how many former credible journalists doctored photos and videos. I’m also embarrassed to say that I didn’t think it was possible to alter videos in a way that you can completely alter what a person has said and how they say it. That is a dangerous tool.
The idea of fake news, however, is nothing new. In 1936, Robert Capa’s famous photograph, Falling Soldier, turned out to be fake. In fact, a number of old photos have been found to be fake.
It was interesting to read this article, which provides the 10 most famous doctored photos, most of which are many years old.
https://www.oddee.com/item_96803.aspx
In this week’s lecture, we discussed the Toledo Blade’s veteran staff photographer Allan Detrich. I know him as the barbeque man in my town of Fremont, as he is married to a friend of mine and we have had outdoor concerts at his house.
I found it intriguing that I never knew about his past, and I just thought he was a stay at home husband who dabbled in some interesting hobbies. Since he was caught for manipulating those photos, he resigned in 2007 because of the unethical practices. This just shows how serious and harmful these unethical choices maybe, even if they do seem harmless.
Every person can now be a master photo manipulator, as we have come to a world where every person has a smartphone. The lines of what is ethical and not are more blurred than ever.
The scariest form of photo manipulation is the fact that full-length videos are being created that look very real, but are actually fake. The video of President Obama speaking here is actually fabricated, but it’s very difficult to tell that it is not real. They call this a deep fake because it is so difficult to tell.
The most terrifying thing would be when this technology advances and we won't be able to tell what is real from what is fake. Maybe this is already happening and we don't even realize!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I find it sad that our nation/world has come to a place that some of our greatest tools (photo and video editing programs) are now being used to manipulation the public at large. It seems that these tools are used now more than ever for manipulation rather than their intended purpose. I didn't know anything about deep fakes before this class and I would agree that this form of manipulation is perhaps the most disturbing of all. It makes you question everything you read, see and hear.
I believe that we are entering times where we will continue to see far more of this mass manipulation as media and technology continue to converge and advance. It presents a real problem for society as it will continue to erode public trust in institutions that are meant to inform and serve the public interest. As long as there are corrupt leaders within society we will continue to see these tools utilized as weapons meant to confuse and control the public.
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