Filmmaker warns against disinformation with fake Obama video

American filmmaker and actor Jordan Peele has made a video using machine learning tool FakeApp and other software in which a message from former President Barack Obama can be seen. The project is intended as a warning against disinformation.

The video was produced in collaboration with BuzzFeed. The video shows how Obama apparently makes various statements, for example about the current President Trump. He says, “We are entering a time where enemies can make anyone say anything at any time.” Then Peele comes into the picture, who says that ‘we live in a dangerous time and need to be more careful about what information we believe on the internet’.

The video was edited using Adobe After Effects. For example, a BuzzFeed video producer placed Peele’s mouth over Obama’s and adapted the jaw to the movements of the mouth. He then used the FakeApp tool to improve the result. That process would have taken a total of 56 hours. That’s a long time, but he expects the adjustments to get better and better in the future.

The FakeApp tool made headlines earlier this year for being used on Reddit to replace the faces of mostly women in porn videos with faces of other famous women. The subreddit in question was closed and other sites took action against these so-called ‘deepfakes’, but development of the tool continues. It is not the first time Obama has been used in such a demonstration. For example, last year scientists showed a method to generate realistic mouth movements in video based on sound.