Problems Continue Mounting for Company as “Deepfake” Videos Grow in Sophistication & Proliferation

The leadership exodus at Facebook continues. Writing for Variety, reporter Maya Kosoff chronicled the numerous executive departures from the company this year and asked, “what the hell is happening at Facebook?” In September, Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger headed for the exits. And on Monday, the co-founder of Facebook-owned Oculus left as well, due to “fundamentally different views” on the future of the company. Facebook did secure one recent high-profile hire, however, tapping former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to lead its global affairs and communications team.With the company under pressure from the European Union (EU) to do more to take down extremist content, Clegg is expected to have a “leading role in shaping the company’s strategy.” He will have his work cut out for him.

It is videos, such as the ISIS propaganda piece titled, “He Revived Me By His Blood,” that the EU finds so troubling. Identified on Facebook by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), it features three executions committed by children, including a shooting executed by a child who appears to be as young as four years old. Another ISIS video, a clip from “Healing of the Believers’ Chests,” has been on the platform for two weeks. It shows the death by burning of Jordanian Air Force Pilot Lieutenant Muath Al-Kasasbeh. The ninth weekly edition of the ISIS video, “Harvest of the Soldiers” for the dates September 20 through September 26, 2018, has been on Facebook for even longer – three weeks. It is an attempt at outreach by ISIS’s media operation to make the group seem dynamic and includes information on vehicles and equipment used to perform terrorist acts; homes and farms destroyed; as well as the different types of attacks conducted, such as assassinations and suicide bombings.

Among Facebook’s other issues: the proliferation of so-called “deepfake” videos or realistic fake videos on its website and over the Internet. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, CEP Senior Advisor and U.C. Berkeley Professor Dr. Hany Farid spoke of the danger posed to elections, democracy and our society by computer manipulated media content. In one video, former President Barack Obama is shown stating, “we’re entering an era in which our enemies can make it look like anyone is saying anything at any point in time.” Except that he never said those words – comedian Jordan Peele’s voice was superimposed on top of the video and Obama’s facial expressions were altered to match its speech patterns. Said Farid, “How are we going to believe anything anymore that we see?  And so, to me, that’s a real threat to our democracy.”

To read more about this issue and see the aforementioned examples, as well as other examples of extremist content, please see the background below.  

EXTREMIST FACEBOOK CONTENT

1. Notorious ISIS Video Featuring Murders Committed By Young Child On Facebook For Five Days

• Located on Facebook: October 24, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Five days
• Views: 540, 33 likes/reacts and 11 shares
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Indonesian
• Description: The ISIS propaganda video “He Revived Me By His Blood” was originally released in January 2017. The video features three executions committed by children, including an execution by shooting done by one approximately four-year-old.  

2. Clip From Notorious ISIS Video Showing Burning Execution Of Jordanian Fighter Pilot

• Located on Facebook: October 24, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Two weeks
• Views: 185, 27 likes/reacts and seven shares
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Bengali
• Description: A clip from the infamous ISIS video “Healing of the Believers’ Chests,” originally released on February 3, 2015. The video segment shows the death by burning of Jordanian Air Force Pilot Lieutenant Muath Al-Kasasbeh.

3. ISIS Video On Facebook For Three Weeks With Over 100 Views

• Located on Facebook: October 24, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Approximately three weeks
• Views: 107 and four likes/reacts
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Arabic
• Description: The ninth weekly edition of the ISIS video “Harvest of the Soldiers” for the dates September 20 to September 26, 2018. The video lists the deaths and injuries inflicted by the terrorist group as a form of a progress report. Each version of the video uses the same computer-generated graphics with different weekly statistics. While basic, it is a further attempt at outreach by ISIS’ media operation to make the group seem dynamic. The video also includes information on vehicles/equipment, and homes and farms destroyed, as well as the different types of attacks conducted (i.e. assassinations, suicide bombings, etc.).

4. Fan-Made ISIS Video On Facebook For Four Days With Over 3,200 Views

• Located on Facebook: October 24, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Four days
• Views: 3,200-plus, 72 likes/reacts and 22 shares
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Arabic
• Description: A fan-made video that contains clips from at least seven different official ISIS propaganda videos. The video shows speeches by ISIS leaders, life within the caliphate, combat and the punishment of law breakers, including a whipping, a man being thrown off of a building and an execution with a firearm.

5. ​Pro-ISIS Facebook Account Encouraging The Murder Of Gays And Lesbians

• Located on Facebook: October 24, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Five days
• Views: N/A
• URL: Link
• Profile Language: Indonesian
• Description: Propaganda encouraging the murder of gays and lesbians on the page of an Indonesian ISIS supporter. The same account has posted an ISIS video nasheed clip and uses an image of a suicide bomber as a profile photo.
   

BACKGROUND

Facebook Executive Leadership Team Has Seen An “Exodus” Of People. “It came as a shock last month when Instagram’s co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, headed for the exits, leaving the company they built and sold to Facebook for $1 billion in 2012. (The news was so sudden, in fact, that The Wall Street Journal was forced to push up the online publican of its cover story featuring Systrom, which had been planned for October 13). For all the turmoil Facebook faced this year, Instagram, it seemed, remained relatively insulated. But behind the scenes, Mark Zuckerberg and the Instagram co-founders had reportedly grown apart as Zuckerberg pushed for greater intermarriage between the two platforms. As Systrom quipped earlier this month, ‘No one ever leaves a job because everything’s awesome.’” (Maya Kosoff, “The Facebook Exodus Is Becoming An Epidemic,” Vanity Fair, 10/22/18)

Last Week, Facebook Hired Nick Clegg To Lead Its Global Affairs And Communications Team. “Facebook has hired Nick Clegg, the former UK deputy prime minister, to head its global affairs and communications team as it faces escalating problems over data protection and the threat of greater government regulation. Sir Nick will move to Silicon Valley in January to succeed Elliot Schrage, who announced he would leave Facebook after 10 years in June. His recruitment will be as much of a surprise to the British political establishment as it will be to Silicon Valley, where few European politicians enjoy a high profile in the insular tech industry … He agreed to take on the job after months of wooing by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, who told Sir Nick he would have a leading role in shaping the company’s strategy … The decision by Facebook to hire Sir Nick, a former European Commission trade negotiator and member of the European Parliament, suggests the company is trying to boost its connections in Brussels, where Facebook is facing escalating battles over data privacy, online disinformation and hate speech.” (George Parker & Tim Bradshaw, “Facebook Hires Nick Clegg As Head Of Global Affairs,” Financial Times, 10/19/18)

CEP Senior Advisor and Professor Dr. Hany Farid: “Deepfake” Videos Pose A Threat To Democracy. “Seeing isn’t believing anymore. Deep-learning computer applications can now generate fake video and audio recordings that look strikingly real. In a recent video published by researchers to show how the technology works, an actor sits in front of a camera moving his face. The computer then generates the same expressions in real time on an existing video of Barack Obama. When the actor shakes his head, the former president shakes his head as well. When he speaks, Mr. Obama speaks as well. ‘This is a big deal,’ Hany Farid, computer science professor at Dartmouth College, told The Wall Street Journal. ‘You can literally put into a person’s mouth anything you want’ … ‘How are we going to believe anything anymore that we see?  And so to me that’s a real threat to our democracy,’ Mr. Farid said.” (Hilke Schellmann, “Deepfake Videos Are Getting Real And That’s A Problem,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/18)