Please note that there is a really nasty thing called ‘deepfake’, and beware of its impact on politics…

Words and behaviors of politicians are dominating the political agenda in our country in recent days, and they are widely discussed in the public sphere. Some video footages often accompany such discussions. Because nobody has objected those footages declaring them ‘fake‘ yet, it is not possible to argue that these hotly debated footages are possibly ‘skillfully manipulated visual products‘.

Yet, I suggest we should be on alert about such manipulative attempts, considering a series of events at home and abroad with a considerable impact on political processes in recent times.

Until this topic aroused my interest, I had not heard of the term ‘deepfake‘ which is very likely to have come into usage recently. The term refers to attempts for influencing political life through manipulated video footages, and production of such videos is very easy to produce and not something challenging even for ordinary individuals. Thanks to great advances in technology, almost anyone with a tablet or a computer can manage to do this by a few software programs available on Internet to download. 

We read in media that a coup attempt took place in Gabon in Africa as a result of a video footage that is thought to be a ‘deepfake‘. Even though the attempt failed, it must have had some considerable adverse impact on the country. According to the news about this event, a video footage, believed to be a ‘deepfake‘, is released at a time when Ali Bongo, president of the country since 2009 and the last member of the ruling family that controls the country since 1967, suffers from some serious health problems. The video aims to convince the public that the president is in good shape, but widespread claims of’deepfake‘ wreak havoc on the country, and almost brings the country to the threshold of a bloody turmoil.

Do you find it difficult to follow what I mean to say?

Triggering off disturbances in a country through videos