Facebook's parent company Meta said on Wednesday local time that it removed deeply faked videos of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy because it violated the social network's rules against media manipulation. Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy at Meta, said in a tweet about the video: "It appeared on a supposedly compromised website and then started showing on the internet. We have quickly reviewed and removed this video because it violates our policy against misleading media manipulation and informs our peers on other platforms. ”
Deep fake video refers to the use of artificial intelligence to create videos where people do or say something they didn't do. Gleicher noted that Zelenskiy's video gives the impression that the politician said something he didn't actually say. Meta did not confirm the video nor did it say what the claim was.
The video's deletion highlights the ongoing challenges facing social networks in trying to curb the spread of misinformation following Russia's military action against Ukraine. Some social media users posted old video footage on Twitter and Facebook to make it look like they were recording events that happened in real time. On TikTok, some people use old or taken audio out of context to make fake videos.
Meta doesn't always remove fake content, but tends to direct users to authoritative sources or tag error messages. The social network has worked with third-party fact-checking agencies to flag misinformation on its services, which also include the photo and video app Instagram. Meta said it would remove misinformation if there was a risk of personal injury or was highly deceptive.
Meta's rule against manipulating the media states that "we remove this kind of content because it can spread quickly, and experts suggest that false beliefs about media manipulation often cannot be corrected through further discussion." ”