Commentary: Elon Musk is playing a dangerous game with Kamala Harris deepfake
- by Channel NewsAsia Singapore
- Jul 30, 2024
- 0 Comments
- 0 Likes Flag 0 Of 5
LinkedIn
LONDON: A video that Elon Musk posted on X over the weekend has the voice of Kamala Harris speaking over her first big campaign ad, describing herself damningly as “the ultimate diversity hire” who does not “know the first thing about running the country.” It’s a powerful, devastating twist on the original ad because the voice is unmistakably Harris’. But it’s been digitally manipulated, most likely by an artificial intelligence tool.
X prohibits users from posting media that has been “deceptively altered” and “likely to result in widespread confusion on public issues”.
But such rules apparently do not apply to Musk himself. The original poster of the video marked it as a parody and got 22,000 views. Musk made no such disclosure when he reposted the video, which has been watched more than 128 million times. That may make him the site’s worst spreader of misinformation.
MUDDLING SATIRE AND MISINFORMATION
Musk’s defense on Monday that “parody is legal in America” is itself a joke. Yes, parody is perfectly legal, but as the owner of a social media site, he should know that when influential figures share content without proper context, the original intent (parody or not) gets lost as more people share and reshare.
The Harris video in particular hits on existing criticisms about her being a “deep state puppet” and on her border security record, making the line between satire and misinformation all the more muddied.
To say the post was a parody after the fact doesn’t help when tens of millions of people have already watched the video.
But this is also a regular cop-out for Musk. Remember his “funding secured” tweet about taking Tesla private for US$420 a share, which he later claimed was a weed joke? Wall Street and the SEC didn’t find it very funny. When he humiliated a cave rescuer that year by calling him a “pedo guy” on X, Musk also claimed in court that he didn’t mean it literally.
Related:
Please first to comment
Related Post
Stay Connected
Tweets by elonmuskTo get the latest tweets please make sure you are logged in on X on this browser.
Sponsored
Popular Post
Tesla: Buy This Dip, Energy Growth And Margin Recovery Are Vastly Underappreciated
28 ViewsJul 29 ,2024