In a world where digital deception is becoming the norm, a new report from Kapwing (a video creation platform) uncovers which business leaders are most frequently found in deepfake videos. Apple CEO Tim Cook places sixth on the list.
Deepfakes (a portmanteau of “deep learning” and “fake”]) are images, videos, or audio which are edited or generated using artificial intelligence tools. They can depict real or non-existent people. You can learn more about deepfakes here.
As part of their awareness campaign, researchers at Kapwing analyzed deepfake video requests submitted to the most popular text-to-video AI tool, tracking how often public figures were targeted by deepfake prompts. Ahead of Cook on the list are Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett. Trailing Apple in the top 10 deepfake list are Rupert Murdoch, Mark Cuban, George Soros, and Richard Branson.
Is it illegal to make a deepfake?
Currently, there’s no law that explicitly bans deepfakes. However, according to copyright law, it’s illegal to use someone’s likeness commercially without their permission. As the folks at Kapwing note, there are major open questions about what is permissible or not.
Many of the examples of videos that have gone viral are satirical and shared for entertainment purposes. In the Copyright Act of 1976, Congress wrote the principles of fair use into law, stating that criticism, news reporting, teaching, and scholarship should not constitute an “infringement of copyright.”
“Deepfakes may also constitute defamation if used to harm someone’s reputation, like the case of a school principal who was fired due to a fake audio recording of himself making racist remarks made by a disgruntled coworker,” says Kapwing. “However, U.S. defamation law distinguishes between public figures and private persons, and a deep fake of Elon Musk, for example, may be considered permissible even if it harms his reputation.”
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