Seeing is believing.  That’s a truism most of us have held onto forever.  The modern version – “Pics or it didn’t happen” – only reinforces the idea that visual evidence is more honest than verbal or written evidence.  Images are intended to represent something that actually exists or once existed, and serve as a memento of a person, place, object or event.  Photographic images are supposed to be infallible and real, the promise of early photography revealed.  Deepfakes, however, challenge this idea of visual truth by presenting intentionally false video, usually on a platform that can be seen by multiple people.  These videos have the potential to skew public discourse and influence elections, much as fake news stories may have … Continued