Dictators (4/2020)
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RepresentUs launches ads featuring “Kim Jong-un” and “Vladimir Putin” to illustrate how easy it is to collapse democracy. It’s the first time that deepfake tech is being used in an ad campaign. The spots are so audacious that they were banned from being aired on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC in DC. Digitally, however, they’re supported by many influencers and celebrities such as Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Amy Schumer.
Tiffany Rolfe: “Another example of a deepfake AI but for a very different purpose and so real that networks wouldn’t let the ads run. The videos featured deepfake versions of Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Both deepfake leaders are communicating the same message: that America doesn’t need any election interference from them; it will ruin its democracy by itself. Scary but true.”
