AI Deepfake ‘News Anchors’ Used in Pro-China Videos on Social Media: Report

A screen shows an artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor from a state-controlled news broadcaster, in Beijing, on Nov. 9, 2018. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Artificial intelligence-generated deepfake news anchors are being used by Chinese state-aligned actors to promote pro-China propaganda videos on social media, according to a report published on Feb. 7.

The detailed report (pdf) by U.S.-based research firm Graphika marks the first time it has observed “state-aligned influence operation actors using video footage of AI-generated fictitious people in their operations.”

Graphika found that the fake news anchors were created for a likely fictitious news outlet called “Wolf News,” which it claims utilized technology provided by London-based AI video company Synthesia.

According to Graphika, the videos were discovered while the company was tracking a network of pro-China disinformation operations that it dubbed “Spamouflage.”

“This set of two unique videos shared many of the same characteristics as traditional Spamouflage content: they ranged between one-and-a-half and three minutes in length, used a compilation of stock images and news footage from online sources, and were accompanied by robotic English-language voiceovers promoting the interests of the Chinese Communist Party,” Graphika wrote in its analysis.

One such video accused the U.S. government of attempting to tackle gun violence through “hypocritical repetition of empty rhetoric.” The other stressed the importance of cooperation between the United States and China for the recovery of the global economy.

Videos Were ‘Low Quality’

Graphika said it identified “Spamouflage” promoting the deepfakes on platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, but the videos were low quality and “spammy,” and none of them had received more than 300 views.

China hasn’t commented on the report.

The website of Synthesia states that it’s an “AI video creation platform” used by thousands of companies to “create videos in 120 languages.” The company offers users more than 100 different “AI avatars,” including two named “Anna” and “Jason.”

“As a company pioneering this new kind of media,” Synthesia says it’s aware of the responsibility it has and that AI and similarly powerful technologies “cannot be built with ethics as an afterthought.”

“We will not offer our software for public use. All content will go through an explicit internal screening process before being released to our trusted clients,” the website states.