A deepfake is a video, photo or audio file created by artificial intelligence which portrays a person saying or doing things that never happened.
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Deepfakes are becoming more common and easier to make, and the quality is improving.
Deepfakes can be used for good in scientific research and entertainment, but they can also be used to show people in scenarios that are embarrassing, offensive, or hurtful.
We encourage families to learn about deepfakes. For example, the ABC's Behind the News has some great explainer videos for students.
Some parents may avoid discussing this because they don't understand the technology, but it's more important to discuss whether it's OK or even ethical to create and share fake videos of people, and the importance of thinking about how our online conduct affects other people.
Encourage your kids to ask:
- Is it ever OK to trick people with fake footage? When is it not OK?
- Did the person agree to take part? How might they feel about it? How would you feel if someone used your image like that?
- How to discover if a video is fake?
- Check the source
- Ask the person portrayed
- Think about who benefits from this video
- Visit www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/tech-trends-and-challenges/deepfakes-position-statement