REFLECTION – DEEPFAKES AND THE ASSASSINATION OF REPUTATIONS
REFLECTION – DEEPFAKES AND THE ASSASSINATION OF REPUTATIONS
December 23, 2019
“Deepfake” is a term that originates from the combination of two other expressions: deep learning and fake news. The former refers to an advanced artificial intelligence technique applied to image and voice recognition, reproduction, and processing through algorithms and artificial neural networks; the latter concerns the use and mass dissemination of false news with the purpose of obtaining electoral, social, or corporate advantages.
The origin of this technique can be traced back to advances in cinematic technology and the fashion industry, present in modern image and video editing software, combined with the revolution of artificial intelligence and today’s means of news dissemination through social media networks.
The technique consists of superimposing the image of one or more individuals onto a previously selected video or photograph. The technology allows the reproduction of the target person’s image and voice in the chosen scene, as if they were actually present in the location and situation portrayed in the edited video. Similar technologies have already been used in cinema to insert actors into scenes in which they were not originally present. Who can forget that the entire cast of The Polar Express and Beowulf was digitally reproduced? Or that deceased actors such as Brandon Lee in The Crow, Marlon Brando in Superman Returns, and Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing in the Star Wars saga were digitally inserted? One cannot ignore that current image and video editing software produces increasingly impressive effects.
In practical terms, through this new technology, increasingly realistic videos of artists, public figures, celebrities, or even ordinary people can be produced with the aim of damaging reputations or obtaining illicit gains through the manipulation of information. Deepfakes constitute a form of fake news on a new scale—broader and potentially far more destructive.
As a warning about the risks of the misuse of this technology, deepfake videos featuring public figures, such as politicians and artists, have already been circulated with the purpose of raising awareness among internet users about the dangers of this new technique. Governments are beginning to reflect on the potential risks of this phenomenon, and major technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are studying ways to contain the spread of this new form of disinformation. The legal implications of this technology will increasingly need to be considered, for henceforth evidence based on videos and images—previously regarded as relatively reliable—will require ever more rigorous forensic examination.
Not even the ecclesiastical sphere will be free from this evil. It will not be surprising if, in a short time, we learn of religious leaders whose reputations have been tarnished by compromising videos produced for the purpose of blackmail, the acquisition of ecclesiastical advantage, or sheer assassination of reputations.
Personal gain through false news is nothing new. In Antiquity, there is a noteworthy literary phenomenon recorded by historians, exegetes, and scholars of the ancient world: pseudonymity. From the Greek pseudo (false) and ónoma (name), also known as pseudepigraphy, this practice involved attributing the authorship of a writing to a prominent author of the time so that, by means of that author’s fame and prestige, the text itself might gain notoriety. Works such as the Apocalypse of Peter, the Books of Enoch, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, among others, are examples of this device. Pseudepigraphy, distinct from simple literary pseudonymity, often represented a form of gain or recognition obtained through false testimony—that is, a lie.
In the medieval period, false testimony could result in severe damage. For the Tribunal of the Holy Office, a single anonymous accusation, even without evidence, was sufficient for someone to be indicted and for a process to begin that could ultimately result in conviction and death. Even a brief reading of the Directorium Inquisitorum by Nicholas Eymerich offers a glimpse into the workings of the inquisitorial process and invites reflection on the abuses and constraints that false testimony could produce. Motivated by personal quarrels, petty interests, or revenge, an individual could present a false accusation and thereby destroy another’s reputation and social life, or at the very least cause social disruption that would be difficult to repair.
These three examples illustrate the same truth: social contexts and available means may change over time, but the human heart, morally affected by sin, always finds new ways to pursue wrongdoing. False testimony, a form of lying, is precisely the sin involved in the contemporary phenomenon of fake news and deepfakes.
When we seek personal advantage through the concealment of truth or unfounded accusations, we murder far more than reputations. In this vile and cowardly act, we also destroy the foundations of trust and social coexistence, reaping as a nefarious result the intensification of tensions and the corrosion of the elements necessary for social cohesion and the credibility of information in our society.
The sin of lying and false testimony, as a transgression of God’s law, represents the breaking of an essential normative ethical standard for human coexistence. It implies the destruction of the foundations of society, constitutes a crime, and, if not restrained by the force of law and by the transformation of character, will result in grave social damage. The wages of sin is death.
Abstract
This article reflects on the phenomenon of deepfakes as a contemporary form of disinformation capable of causing profound social, legal, and moral harm. By situating deepfakes within a broader historical and ethical framework—ranging from ancient pseudepigraphy to medieval false testimony—it argues that technological innovation has amplified, but not created, humanity’s propensity for deceit. The essay highlights the destructive potential of deepfakes in undermining trust, damaging reputations, and eroding social cohesion, emphasizing the ethical responsibility to resist falsehood and uphold truth as a foundational element of both civil society and Christian moral theology.
Author’s Note
Manoel Gonçalves Delgado Jr. holds a Doctorate in Pastoral Ministry and is a public theologian and researcher in social ethics, technology, and faith. His work focuses on practical theology, missiology, and Christian reflection on contemporary challenges. He lives in Brazil, where he develops academic and pastoral projects dedicated to the intersection of faith, culture, technology, and social justice.
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