If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, chances are it's a ... hippopotamus???
Here's some really spooky stuff:
Here's some really spooky stuff:
In an age of Photoshop, filters and social media, many of us are used to seeing manipulated pictures – subjects become slimmer and smoother or, in the case of Snapchat, transformed into puppies.In the examples shown in The Guardian piece cited above, it is damned near impossible to detect the 'fake' stuff ... which means the 'real' stuff is likewise undetectable. Serious conversation, critical thinking, logic and a host of other aspects of any given topic go down the toilet in the face of this technological 'advance.'
However, there’s a new breed of video and audio manipulation tools, made possible by advances in artificial intelligence and computer graphics, that will allow for the creation of realistic looking footage of public figures appearing to say, well, anything. Trump declaring his proclivity for water sports. Hillary Clinton describing the stolen children she keeps locked in her wine cellar. Tom Cruise finally admitting what we suspected all along … that he’s a Brony.
This is the future of fake news. We’ve long been told not to believe everything we read, but soon we’ll have to question everything we see and hear as well.
"Serious conversation, critical thinking, logic and a host of other aspects of any given topic go down the toilet in the face of this technological 'advance.'"
ReplyDeleteSeems you've already conceded.
I learned long ago, not to believe everything I read. The NYTimes was doing story in which I played a small part. I knew some of the people being interviewed. One person claimed the reporter was going to write an accurate portrayal of the issue. Editorial / Publisher nixed it.. She got an apology but the public was lied to.
The lesson from that experience was to stay as close as possible to the ground on any story. Take all of it with a grain of salt.
That hasn't changed with this "Fake News" nonsense.
Thanks to the internet we can garner the many opinions about the same story and do some amateur fact checking.
I suggest running things of interest by the "Fact Checking" web sites that have popped up.
To get up to speed see 6 Best Fact Checking Websites That Help You Distinguish Between Truth and Rumors
BTW - The NY Times policy at the time was very hurtful but the journalist was opened minded, or so I was told.
ReplyDeleteIn an unrelated issue I personally dealt with a Fox News reporter who was actually looking for someone to confirm a story that was already scripted. I refused. Perhaps others did too that story never made it to daylight.