Have you ever been a victim of deepfakes? Or those images and videos that appear very real when they actually are not? Deepfakes, which are content created mainly by artificial intelligence, have been making rounds on the Internet lately. They are disturbing and pretty convincing too.
These deepfakes are producing an effect known as the Mandela Effect. The Mandela Effect was coined after the former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, who many people believed died in prison when he actually did not. He was freed and became president of his country.
While deepfakes or AI technologies are providing help for businesses when they need to catch the attention of a wider audience, deepfakes have very disturbing impacts. According to the blog post by ExpressVPN, deepfakes can create fake news stories, sway political opinion, drive propaganda campaigns, and alter historical footage. They are also capable of manipulating social media content, fabricating scientific evidence, and creating false alibis.
In this rundown, we will take a look at some of the most disturbing deepfakes that have ever existed. Some of them you may be familiar with. Let’s get started.
Most Disturbing Deepfakes
1. The Tom Cruise Deepfake On TikTok
“Mission: Impossible” actor Tom Cruise is so popular and versatile too. The popularity of celebrities like this is a reason why they often become the subjects of deepfakes.
There are viral videos of Cruise showing his face on someone else’s body. Interestingly, the popularity of these deepfakes has led to a whole bunch of people following a dedicated TikTok account only for this purpose.
Cruise is among the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. Thus, it is no surprise that he’ll be a subject of deepfakes.
2. Jim Carrey In ‘The Shining’
Jim Carrey’s stellar performances in films like “Batman Forever,” “The Cable Guy,” and “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” among many others, have wowed international audiences.
But he also has a deepfake, and it is disturbing so many people.
YouTuber Ctrl Shift Face, also one of the most renowned deepfake creators, created a deepfake of Carrey where he is inserted into Jack Nicholson’s role (yes, the Joker) in the classic 1980 thriller, “The Shining.” Very creepy, indeed.
3. A Deepfake Replacing A TV News Anchor In Korea
Korea is among the most technologically advanced nations in the world, so creating content of this kind will just be easy for them, such as this one.
People in South Korea wake up to the face and voice of a news anchor on one of the country’s networks, MBN, Kim Joo-Ha. Now, she is a real person, but what people see on TV is her AI-generated voice and face. This AI-generated voice and face of Kim Joo-Ha are also used for breaking news stories and traffic updates.
It is disturbing because of how deepfakes are posing a threat to how people consume content from the media. Will deepfakes also replace real-life news anchors?
4. Steve Buscemi As Jennifer Lawrence
Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, who rose to popularity with her performance in the movie “The Hunger Games,” is also an influencer and endorser of various brands, such as watch brand Longines.
Now here comes actor Steve Buscemi being the subject of a deepfake that places his head over Lawrence’s body. In the video, the half-Buscemi, half-Lawrence deepfake talks about “Real Housewives.” It looks real.
5. Former Wonder Woman Lynda Carter As Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman
The 71-year-old Lynda Carter, among the actresses who portrayed Wonder Woman in the past, is back. Yes, she is, and she is replacing the face and body of Gal Gadot in some scenes of the recent “Wonder Woman” movie. But, of course, it’s a deepfake.
6. The Donald Trump Deepfakes
U.S. presidents are the favorite subjects of deepfake creators. They’d be reaching out to so many people. Many individuals are just very interested in political conversations, and deepfake creators are abusing this interest.
For instance, there are those deepfakes featuring former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has been the favorite of meme creators, and deepfake creators, too. And perhaps the most popular deepfakes of Trump are those that show him being arrested and his face and voice replacing the face of one of the stars in the kids’ reality show, “Toddlers & Tiaras.”
7. The Mark Zuckerberg Deepfake
When an edited Nancy Pelosi video was posted on Facebook and the social media platform refused to take it down, artist Bill Posters tried to create a deepfake video featuring Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg saying that he had ownership of its users. Indeed, it is meant to sound controversial.
However, many noticed that the voice mismatch made the video not very convincing. And, on a side note, the artist, Posters, has a profile online that identifies him as a disinformation researcher. Ironic, right?
8. A Round Table Featuring Robert Downey, Jr., Tom Cruise, George Lucas, Ewan McGregor, And Jeff Goldblum
Getting your favorite actors and movie personalities into one event, such as a round table discussion, is difficult. However, the popular entertainment site and digital video production company Collider has been successful in it — only that they used deepfake technology.
You may have seen Collider’s clip featuring filmmaker George Lucas, Marvel’s Robert Downey, Jr., Star Wars’ Ewan McGregor, Independence Day’s Jeff Goldblum, and Tom Cruise in a round table discussion like the talk show “The View.” It is disturbing because the clip looks oh-so-real, but it is created with deepfake technology.
Deepfakes Are Taking Over The World
Deepfakes are fake images and videos created using digital software, face swapping, and machine learning. These types of content are computer-created artificial photos and videos wherein the images are combined to create entirely new footage that usually depicts happenings, actions, or statements that never happened.
Deepfakes are becoming increasingly rampant nowadays. They look perfect and unidentifiable. For instance, there was a deepfake about the Pope showing him wearing a white puffer jacket, and model Chrissy Teigen thought it was real.
While deepfakes can help individuals and businesses present themselves better in front of the general public, it is still crucial for people to become responsible and vigilant about it. Deepfakes can alter public opinion. What you have learned above are some of the most disturbing and triumphant deepfakes that ever existed. Aside from enjoying those content, take them also as a way to identify what’s real and what’s not.
