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HomeTechFacebook bans deepfake videos but not doctored images like those of Kejriwal...

Facebook bans deepfake videos but not doctored images like those of Kejriwal and Pawar

Experts say Facebook’s updated policy won’t have a big impact in India, where the problem is disinformation through morphed images & re-purposed videos.

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New Delhi: On 6 January, Facebook updated its policy on removing “misleading manipulated media”. The social media company said it will not allow doctored videos called ‘deepfakes’, which are made using advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

However, Facebook’s updated policy focuses on deepfake videos, which form a very small part of the massive disinformation problem India is currently facing. The new policy, thus, may not do enough to deal with most disinformation, experts say.

For example, the policy change will not ban doctored images of politicians like Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal or NCP leader Sharad Pawar prevalent on Facebook, which fact-checking website Alt News’ co-founder Pratik Sinha said are “used to create organised propaganda”.


Also read: Facebook is banning ‘deepfakes’ but important questions still remain


What the policy change entails

Monica Bickert, Facebook’s vice-president for global policy management, said in the 6 January blog post that Facebook will now remove videos that are edited “beyond adjustments for clarity or quality”, and also those in which it is not obvious to the “average person” that some form of editing has been done.

Facebook will also remove videos if it “would likely mislead someone into thinking that a subject of the video said words that they did not actually say”. It will also remove videos made using AI or ML which makes it look “authentic”.

There are exceptions where doctored videos won’t be removed. The same blog post says doctored content considered parody or satire will not be removed. Videos edited to “omit or change the order of words” will not be removed or banned from Facebook either.

Propaganda against Kejriwal and Pawar

Ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, doctored images of Kejriwal have been circulating on Facebook though pages like ‘Paltu Aadmi Party’ — one features the Delhi CM being kicked in the rear, while others feature unverified claims like Kejriwal will offer government jobs and Rs 5 lakh to those who started the anti-CAA protests at Jamia Millia Islamia.

Source: Facebook

Another post says AAP politicians gave bail to protesters arrested for alleged violence during anti-CAA protests in north-east Delhi’s Seelampur.

Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook

According to an October 2019 report in the Times of India, the Aam Aadmi Party sought an FIR against ‘Paltu Aadmi Party’ for posting such images of AAP members and for posting false content. The page is labelled as a satire/parody page and Facebook will not take down content from pages labelled as satire, a source close to Facebook said.

According to Facebook data, ‘Paltu Aadmi Party’ has spent approximately Rs 8.41 lakh between February 2019 and January 2020 on political ads. Most of the ads feature doctored images of Kejriwal.

A similar example is a page called ‘Aghadi Bighadi’, which targets NCP chief Sharad Pawar with doctored images. Data shows it has spent over Rs 13.76 lakh between February 2019 and January 2020 on political ads.

The page posts doctored images of Pawar, claiming he is part of multiple scams worth thousands of crores related to Air India, a bank as well as tribal land, and that voters should remember this during voting.

Source: Facebook

Pawar’s image is doctored to show him wearing a pilot’s suit in one post, holding a gun in another, with his arm around a young girl in tribal dress in another post. Pawar’s face is also photo-shopped onto a man wearing nothing but a banana leaf.

Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook

 


Also read: Facebook, Swiggy, Zomato, Netflix — how AI is finding its way into our daily life


Positive step but problem runs deeper

Kanchan Kaur, dean of Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, who certifies whether fact-checker sites are credible sources, said such doctored images from pages like ‘Paltu Aadmi Party’ or ‘Aghadi Bighadi’ won’t be covered under the policy update.

Alt News’ Sinha added: “The policy has been carefully worded to essentially cover deepfake videos only. This update will not do much to take care of misinformation and disinformation spread in India, one of Facebook’s largest user bases, where violence due to misinformation and disinformation is a serious issue.”

Sinha said there are rarely any ‘deepfake’ doctored videos targeting Indians made using AI. Jency Jacob, managing editor of fact-checking site BOOM, agreed with Sinha, but said Facebook’s policy is a positive step forward in admitting deepfake videos pose a problem.

Sinha said most misinformation and disinformation in India is based on using old video clips and attaching a false narrative to them.

In the US, a digital forensics expert at University of California, Berkeley, had told the Washington Post that Facebook’s approach was “too narrowly construed” to focus on fake videos made using sophisticated tech, and didn’t focus enough on the broader issue of all misleading videos.


Also read: Facebook wary of new Data Protection Bill that asks it to give non-personal info to govt


 

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1 COMMENT

  1. It is not about banning by Facebook or Twitter…. Had these derogatory images has been of Modi or Yogi the account could have been arrested. Why don’t the police show the same enthusiasm when dealing with those who write derogatory and morphed imgaes of other party political leaders. Lawyers are good to better treatment to Delhi Police

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