Tesla founder and owner of X, Elon Musk, is showing no signs of remorse after posting a deepfake video of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Deepfake technology has gotten troublingly effective in the last few years, spurred on by substantial AI advancements. The tech has been used to perpetrate scams with the likeness of celebrities of all kinds, causing the internet to be an even more confusing place.
Now, a deepfake video of a potential presidential candidate has surfaced, with Musk reposting the parody it on X without marking it as a deepfake, against the rules set by his own social media channel. It was published on July 27th and currently has 132.1 million views.
The Deepfake Video Musk Loves
Elon Musk — is currently engaged in simultaneous online spats over the Venezuelan election and puberty blocking hormones. has not taken down the video or change his caption, which reads: “This is amazing 😂.”
The clip uses a real campaign video but with a faked audio track using an AI generated voice over to mimic Kamala Harris. In it, fake Harris refers to herself as the “ultimate diversity hire” and a “deep state puppet.”
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Musk posted just days before X was accused of suspending the account of a group called “White dudes for Harris” three hours after a fundraiser it organized raised $3 million.
The Response
In response to the controversial billionaire, who was voted the most overrated CEO in the US in February, California Governor Gavin Newson wrote: “Manipulating a voice in an “ad” like this one should be illegal.” He also nodded to the bill that the Senate is hoping to pass on AI to counter misinformation, abuse and fraud –something that Microsoft has pushed on only today.
Musk responded with: “I checked with renowned world authority, Professor Suggon Deeznutz, and he said parody is legal in America.” The original poster of the video, user @MrReaganUSA, did flag it as a parody but Musk did not.
In X’s policy on synthetic and manipulated media, it says: “You may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm (“misleading media”).” In order to be removed or prompt action, a post must “include media that is significantly and deceptively altered,” “shared in a deceptive manner or with false context,” or result in “widespread confusion on public issues.”
X says in the policy that it will investigate “whether there are any visual or auditory information (such as new video frames, overdubbed audio, or modified subtitles) that has been added, edited, or removed that fundamentally changes the understanding, meaning, or context of the media.” This will help it determine whether a post should be taken down.
