What are deepfake videos?
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In a series of videos published on TikTok, Professor David Taylor-Robinson, an expert in child health and inequalities, explains on various occasions and conferences the phenomenon of the “thermometer leg”, an alleged symptom of menopause in which women experiencing hot flashes during the night stretch one leg over the blanket. The videos have accumulated hundreds of thousands of views, likes and comments and were all posted by the same account. However, it was not really Professor Taylor-Robinson who appeared in the videos, but rather a modified version of him. As he revealed in fact Full Fact, an independent newspaper that deals with fact-checking and combating misinformation, there are several on TikTok accounts that publish deepfake videos, i.e. modified using artificial intelligence and very realistic. What these accounts essentially do is modify existing videos of experts, academics, doctors and important figures in the medical and healthcare fields to make them say things that they have never actually said. THEn one of the various deepfake videos portraying him, Taylor-Robinson is found, for example, at a conference of the former English government body Public Health England: the expert had actually participated in that conference to talk about territorial inequalities in the field of childhood health, but in the video he is attributed with statements on menopause and the “thermometer leg” phenomenon. Taylor-Robinson was not even the only expert whose image was exploited and modified: even the former CEO of Public Health England Duncan Selbie appears in some videos on the same account to always talk about menopause. Contacted by Full Fact, Selbie called the videos “a terrific imitation” and the content “utterly senseless.” Leveraging the reputation of people who are knowledgeable and renowned in their field, the purpose of these videos is to promote remedies for alleged problems described in the video itself. After a description of the “thermometer leg” phenomenon, for example, in Professor Taylor-Robinson’s deepfake video the expert is seen recommending some products and supplements of a given brand. “If you want to delve deeper into the topic,” says the fake expert, “I put the link in my profile. And you husbands, share it with the person you love. Now more than ever, she needs your understanding.”
It is no coincidence that menopause is one of the areas in which deepfake videos are used, and that language linked to the emotional sphere was also used in the British expert’s video. Due to the historical underestimation and neglect of women’s health, women have long found themselves going through phases of life without the right awareness and knowledge, and without adequate tools to understand any symptoms and how to deal with them. This is especially true for menopause, which is still a taboo in many contexts: according to a study published in 2021, in fact, 64.7% of the over 1000 Italian women interviewed said that the difficulties related to menopause are often still underestimated on a social level, while the main sources of information for the women interviewed by the Onda Foundation were family, friends, and even the Internet. As a result, women’s health, and menopause in particular, can easily become fertile ground for misinformation and dubious or completely incorrect marketing strategies. Today, in fact, when menopause is talked about more than in the past, in many cases it is done by exploiting historical gaps and vulnerabilities of many women to promote ineffective solutions to real or completely invented symptoms.
If defending oneself from online disinformation has always been complicated, with deepfakes it seems even more difficult. So well made that they look real, they not only damage the reputations of knowledgeable and renowned people, but can pose a threat to people’s health. Sean Mackey, professor of anesthesiology at Stanford, said in this regard to Full Fact: “Deepfake endorsements not only mislead consumers, but also risk causing real harm as people abandon proven therapies.” And it is also difficult for certain contents to be removed. When Professor Taylor-Robinson discovered videos featuring his image on TikTok, he reported them several times to the platform, but after receiving a response that no infringement had been found, he was only told that the videos’ visibility would be limited and they would no longer be recommended to users.
However, there is a way to protect yourself as users
The Australian agency eSafetywhich deals with online safety, recommends, for example, listening and carefully observing the video to notice if there are particular inconsistent elements, such as cuts to the audio, sound that is not well synchronized with the image or movements and elements that seem unnatural. The scientific magazine British Medical Journal (BMJ) instead suggests trying to contact the person who is represented in the video, to ask if it is actually her, but also to leave a comment under the content itself questioning its veracity: “You may not be the only person to have doubts and letting others know that you think something is not right” could be helpful, they explain from BMJ. Then there are some basic rules that always apply when dealing with online disinformation. Look for the titles, experiences and skills of the people represented in the videofor example, is a good way to understand how accurate that information is: in the case of Taylor-Robinson, a child health expert, the fact that he was represented discussing menopause was already a wake-up call. Exploring the accuracy of what is said in a video and the effectiveness of the recommended products through other sources is another method to take into consideration. In general, then, It is always essential to think critically about what you read or find online, along with consulting with your doctors and qualified health professionals before making any decisions about your health.