If you’ve ever seen a deepfake gif on a social media post, you’ve likely rolled your eyes in embarrassment. While these GIFs may look pretty, they are completely untrue. They carry the Doublicat watermark and will never fool anyone. Instead of being cute and adorable, these spoof GIFs fall into the broad “parody” or “satire” category.
To avoid this problem, it’s best to know what deepfakes are and how to avoid them. The deepfake gif is a very real threat to democracy. It can affect consent, bodily autonomy, and bias reinforcement online. However, since it is a satire, it’s not illegal to share it. Fortunately, Twitter has a policy that covers deepfakes, and other manipulated media, too.
Another controversial feature of deepfakes is that they’re able to be distributed on social media sites. In fact, the official account of President Donald Trump re-tweeted one of the most widely-disguised deepfakes ever created. The tweet, which has sparked a massive debate, has been re-tweeted more than three million times. And yet, the original tweet was posted to Twitter. Because deepfakes are not fakes, they are still allowed to be posted on the site. The Twitter policy, however, does not address all manipulated media.
Some apps that make use of deepfake technology are malicious. Facebook has banned some deepfakes that are misleading. Despite their negative reputation, deepfakes can also be used in fun applications. An app called Doublicat lets you superimpose your face on GIFs. It’s an Android and iOS app that allows users to experiment with different looks. In this way, they can create their own unique GIFs, and make their friends laugh.