Ideas change everything

How deepfakes undermine truth and threaten democracy

3,587,359 plays|

Danielle Citron |

TEDSummit 2019

• July 2019

The use of deepfake technology to manipulate video and audio for malicious purposes -- whether it's to stoke violence or defame politicians and journalists -- is becoming a real threat. As these tools become more accessible and their products more realistic, how will they shape what we believe about the world? In a portentous talk, law professor Danielle Citron reveals how deepfakes magnify our distrust -- and suggests approaches to safeguarding the truth.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

The use of deepfake technology to manipulate video and audio for malicious purposes -- whether it's to stoke violence or defame politicians and journalists -- is becoming a real threat. As these tools become more accessible and their products more realistic, how will they shape what we believe about the world? In a portentous talk, law professor Danielle Citron reveals how deepfakes magnify our distrust -- and suggests approaches to safeguarding the truth.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

Follow Danielle Citron on Twitter.

Learn more about the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. The organization works with federal lawmakers to criminalize digital forgeries like deepfakes that damage reputations, invade privacy and cause other harm — and to amend Section 230.

About the speaker

Danielle Citron

Law professor, deepfake scholar

See speaker profile

Danielle Citron writes, speaks and teaches her academic loves: privacy, free speech and civil rights. Through her work with privacy organizations, she also puts these ideas into practice.

Learn more

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Danielle Citron | Harvard University Press (2016)

Danielle Citron - *Hate Crimes in Cyberspace*

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

Follow Danielle Citron on Twitter.

Learn more about the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. The organization works with federal lawmakers to criminalize digital forgeries like deepfakes that damage reputations, invade privacy and cause other harm — and to amend Section 230.