From Reuters
With apparently fake photos, DeSantis raises AI ante
By Alexandra Ulmer and Anna Tong
In one apparently altered image, former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen hugging his bête noire Dr. Anthony Fauci, who beams in response. In another, Trump is kissing Fauci on the nose.
These images published by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' campaign this week demonstrate how the 2024 Republican White House contenders have elevated their war of words into the AI-driven social media arena, interspersing fact with fiction...
“It was particularly sneaky to intermix the real and the fake images, as if the presence of the real image is giving more credibility to the other images,” said digital image forensics pioneer Hany Farid, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.
A person with knowledge of the DeSantis campaign operation said the Trump side had been “continuously posting fake images and false talking points to smear the governor...”
Hany Farid is a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information and EECS. He specializes in digital forensics.
