DeSantis Campaign Uses Deepfake Images to Attack Trump, Experts Suggest
The New York Times The images, which at first glance appear genuine and are interspersed with real photographs in a campaign video, purport to show Donald Trump hugging and kissing Dr. Anthony Fauci.
As Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida begins to aggressively attack former President Donald J. Trump, his campaign has spread three images of the former president embracing Dr. Anthony S. Fauci that forensic experts say are almost certainly realistic-looking deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence.
The images which at first glance appear genuine and are interspersed with real photographs in a campaign video show Mr. Trump hugging and kissing Dr. Fauci, who led the nations pandemic response and has been a target of harsh criticism from Mr. DeSantis. The governor has used the pandemic to contrast himself with his main rival for the Republican presidential nomination.
A Twitter account run by Mr. DeSantiss campaign posted the images, part of a video attacking Mr. Trump, on Monday. The news agency Agence France-Presse first reported that they appeared fake on Wednesday.
