Breaking: “They’ve just arrested Trump!!!”.

That’s just one example of the many headlines you might see right now in a lot of internet outlets. This can get very severe in a time when fact-checking is nonexistent and journalism consists solely of copying and pasting news from other sites.

Prepare yourself because information warfare is evolving into a new era. 

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Yes, it is that simple to make fake images, videos, and sound clips, and it will only get harder to tell when something is real.

The story

Eliot Higgins, a Bellingcat writer, recently worked with Midjourney v5 AI picture generators to produce fictitious images based on a few keywords. These pictures were fake, but they spread swiftly on social media and many people took them as fact. The potential for this technology to injure people and cause havoc is demonstrated by this circumstance.

The new area of misinformation

Although false information has existed for years, it is now much simpler than ever to disseminate it rapidly and extensively because to the development of technological technology and the rise of social media. Numerous instances of fake news seriously harming people have occurred in recent years, including when it was used to sway elections, spread panic and confusion, or even incite violence.

The most recent issue is the development of generative AI, which can produce synthetic images, films, and audio that are essentially indistinguishable from the genuine thing. The most recent algorithms produce outcomes that are practically impossible to distinguish from reality with the naked eye as this technology develops.

Be aware

Particularly alarming is how simple generative AI technology is to utilize. This methodology doesn’t require any programming ability or extensive technical knowledge, in contrast to other techniques for fabricating images or films that did.

Due to its ease of use, anyone may easily produce phony photos or videos and post them on social media, which could potentially lead to widespread misunderstanding and panic.

Be prepared for the widespread dissemination of fraudulent or bogus information on all social media platforms and the web at large. And I wouldn’t expect even TV and the traditional print media to follow up owing to the absence of fact-checking from major mainstream media.