by Linda Mork
Quick Summary
Join us as we go through the free, self-paced Media Landscapes: 23 Things curriculum this summer! You can start at the beginning, or hop on any time. This week, we are on Thing 5: Synthetic Media.
Deepfakes, cheapfakes, and memes, oh my!
All of these are types of synthetic media, an umbrella term that covers all creation, manipulation, and modification of media, including video, photographs, and audio. Synthetic media has been around for decades, but with the development of more advanced technology, image manipulation has entered a new era of deception.
This week in Thing 5, as we explore examples of synthetic media, how it's created, and ways, both positive and negative, in which it is used, let's consider the following questions:
- How is synthetic media similar to or different than traditional plagiarism? Are there elements of how we address the latter – in terms of recognition and verification – that could inform how we address the former?
- How would you suggest that we address synthetic media while still respecting the 1st Amendment?
- Is the debate on these issues robust enough? How do we tailor awareness-raising, training and/or education to each audience?
