A new study shows most Canadians have spotted deepfakes online and almost a quarter encounter them several times each week. This image made from video of a fake video featuring former President Barack Obama shows elements of facial mapping used in new technology that lets anyone make videos of real people appearing to say things they've never said. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP
TORONTO – A new study finds most Canadians have spotted deepfakes online and almost a quarter encounter them weekly.
The research from Toronto Metropolitan University public policy organization The Dais reveals 60 per cent of people in the country have seen deepfakes.
Deepfakes are digitally-manipulated images or videos depicting scenes that have not happened.
The Dais’ research found about 23 per cent of the 2,501 Canadians surveyed in April came across such material at least a few times every week.
The most common deepfakes involved images or videos of celebrities, followed closely by those related to politics.
Researchers say Canadians using Facebook, YouTube, X, TikTok and ChatGPT were more at risk of being exposed to deepfakes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2024.
