Can Democracy Survive?

The World Thought This Cheer Mom Created a Deepfake to Harass Her Daughter’s Rival—but the Real Story Is Way More Confusing (and Bizarre)

"This phenomenon has been dubbed the “liar’s dividend,” the idea that the existence of deepfakes can be weaponized to undermine the truth. As Ajder explains, “Deepfakes don’t just make things look real. They also provide a way to dismiss real things as fake.” Umé adds—and the more mainstream the concept becomes, the bigger its risk—that “this is something we’re going to face a lot in the future, people denying that they were being shown on video, even if there’s video proof.” Which is not to say that Madi did anything especially shocking by denying she had vaped on video. But it is to suggest that what happened to Madi points to a scary future in which all digital evidence is essentially suspicious—and the only truth is the one each of us (or the internet) chooses to believe."