A campaign using artificial intelligence to impersonate Omar al-Bashir, the former leader of Sudan, has received hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, adding online confusion to a country torn apart by civil war.
An anonymous account has been posting what it says are “leaked recordings” of the ex-president since late August. The channel has posted dozens of clips – but the voice is fake.
Bashir, who has been accused of organising war crimes and was toppled by the military in 2019, hasn’t been seen in public for a year and is believed to be seriously ill. He denies the war crimes accusations.
The mystery surrounding his whereabouts adds a layer of uncertainty to a country in crisis after fighting broke out in April between the military, currently in charge, and the rival Rapid Support Forces militia group.
Campaigns like this are significant as they show how new tools can distribute fake content quickly and cheaply through social media, experts say.
“It is the democratisation of access to sophisticated audio and video manipulation technology that has me most worried,” says Hany Farid, who researches digital forensics at the University of California, Berkeley, in the US.
“Sophisticated actors have been able to distort reality for decades, but now the average person with little to no technical expertise can quickly and easily create fake content.”
Source: bbc.com
