How are you guys doing so far in this election year? I’m fine, mostly because I’m barely paying attention to the increasingly depressing sh-t coming out of the mainstream media. Those people want Donald Trump to win so badly because it will be “good for ratings” and they want the insanity of MAGA fascism. Meanwhile, it definitely feels like Trump’s support is dissipating, or maybe the MAGAts have just learned how to mask their bullsh-t. Anyway, we have seven months to go and y’all know that many “curveballs” are coming. We’re talking about foreign interference, lies, insurrection, treason and deepfakes. Speaking of, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation has teamed with The Future US to combat the deepfake and misinformation.
A bipartisan coalition with support from Hollywood power players and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation is working to prepare U.S. voters for a possible deepfake onslaught as the campaign year goes into high gear.
Why it matters: With federal agencies and social media companies barely talking to each other about AI-driven misinformation threats, “this is a disaster waiting to happen — no one’s doing the public inoculation,” warned Miles Taylor, chief policy officer of The Future US, which is coordinating the campaign. Taylor is a former DHS chief of staff — and author of a celebrated op-ed critique of the Trump administration from an “anonymous” insider — who wrote a tell-all book.
The big picture: Last September, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the White House, FBI and other federal officials likely violated the First Amendment by encouraging social media companies to crack down on COVID-19 misinformation. The Supreme Court, which is hearing a government appeal of that ruling, is skeptical that officials overstepped — but the case has already significantly reduced the contact between officials and big tech companies, including election-protection coordination.
Federal agencies have faced a parallel wave of litigation and pressure from Republicans, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), to cease efforts to study misinformation on social media around both election and health topics.
Driving the news: The Future US shared two prototype ads that the group is using to gin up interest among Hollywood screenwriters, ad executives and influencers for what it hopes will be a massive earned media campaign, supplemented by an initial $5 million of paid advertising in swing states. One ad shows a woman in Arizona picking up the phone on Election Day, and hearing a voice on the other end that tells her to stay away from the polls because of threats from militant groups. The AI-generated caller, impersonating a poll worker, holds a “real” conversation with the voter.
According to Axios, Archewell “is also helping brainstorm new content,” hoping to inform voters (especially seniors) not to fall for AI or deepfake voter suppression tactics. The ad campaign will begin airing in swing states (Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin) later this spring. This is completely keeping with Harry and Meghan’s political energy these days, especially as they’ve been vocal for years about the proliferation of distortion and misinformation on social media. That being said, the fact that the Sussexes are part of anti-AI/deepfake campaign at the same time as the Windsors’ credibility is in the toilet for their photo manipulations… well, it’s funny. Hilarious, even.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Archewell.
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 21: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex cradles her bump as she visits the Hubb Community Kitchen to see how funds raised by the ‘Together: Our Community’ Cookbook are making a difference at Al Manaar, North Kensington on November 21, 2018 in London, England.
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 21: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex cradles her bump as she visits the Hubb Community Kitchen to see how funds raised by the ‘Together: Our Community’ Cookbook are making a difference at Al Manaar, North Kensington on November 21, 2018 in London, England.
This is good work that Meghan and Harry are doing, work that they wouldn’t be allowed to do in England. They were always going to be bigger than anyone in that family on salt island.
Cue the British shrieks “They are dabbling in politics!”
This is great work and they’ve teamed up with great people on the ads. For one, I’ve been impressed with Miles Taylor whenever I’ve seen him in interviews, etc. Looks like I’m going to have to add his book “Blowback” to my reading queue.
Good for them. This project sounds really interesting. I saw GB News tweet about Harry and Meghan wading into US politics but I don’t get the impression that the British press has been able to generate any outrage about this.
It’s literally a bipartisan coalition which is as politically neutral as it gets. In any case i feel like this might be some of their most important work yet and i hope they can turn this into something more permanent. You know beyond the election. Because to be frank: the future of AI, deepfakes and misinformation scare me sh%tless.
I’m glad to read that the coalition is bipartisan, @Chloe. Like it or not, misinformation is spread by both US political parties. The more both sides can be transparent, the less anti-election rage. But maybe that’s just wishful thinking. My mental health can’t take another January 6.
Legislation and regulation is trailing far behind technology and the stories already out there about people’s likenesses being used in deepfake porn etc. are just the tip of a very nasty iceberg.
Wading into US politics? They’re deluded if they think Britain isn’t going to be a target. (Or impacted by a US election.) This is VERY much an international issue.
This. I’m so glad Harry and Meghan are living here and able to undertake any project that moves them.
I look at that photo of the two of them walking down the steps of the Sydney Opera House and think of all the heartache to come for them. And then I read about how far they’ve blossomed and the circles they now move in with out the Windsors, grey men and BM holding them back. They were always too big for that small island.
In general all the pictures from that tour make me really sad because you know the firestorm that is about to hit them when they get home. Yes there was negative and racist press before that, but we all know the smear campaign kicked into high gear after that tour.
It’s also becoming a mental health issue bc of the impact of people creating pornographic deepfakes of kids and circulating them/using them as blackmail.
I saw an article about that yesterday. So disturbing and upsetting. I’m so grateful H and M are directing attention to this. All hands on deck.
I don’t find it awful to encourage SM companies to stop misinformation that will affect all of society adversely. If you don’t want to be called out on a lie; don’t lie.
Quite, I can’t believe that there was ruling to NOT stop disinformation because of freedom of speech, this is beyond ridiculous. Russia, North Korea, etc. must be thrilled that they have so many people on their side and against the wellbeing of the general public.
In the end, it doesnt matter how advanced human ability becomes, self-interest will forever remain the primary motivator for the vast majority of us. Especially those for whom the money motive is primary…..like big tech owners.
So it seems to me, theres one sure thing that will motivate them to ACT, like theyre being asked – even begged! to do by folks like H&M and the many other organizations and individuals who are begging tech owners to act like owners and exercise some measure of control and order into their operations.
And that is: when they and their loved ones become victims of deepfakes.
Perhaps some crusader might wanna do something about that.
Kingston, our minds think alike, except I was thinking that if certain members of the US Supreme Court had to contend with deepfakes it would become imperative to make sure it didn’t happen.
Oh, this is GREAT!!! I’m the Civic Literacy Team Lead at my library, and we’re doing everything we can to promote voter registration and help people navigate the firehose of misinformation and disinformation that’s going to be 2024 in a Battleground State (I’m in Wisconsin). One thing we’re doing is a Big Read of Sam Wineburg & Mike Caulfield’s book “Verified,” which I highly recommend – it’s a really good primer on how to not get duped online and addresses deepfakes. So grateful to see the Sussexes getting involved with this.
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/V/bo207015182.html
This is so great! Go U of C!
I tend to check sources myself when I read anything, but we were taught in school about primary and secondary sources as well as only citing reputable publications (Wikipedia is NOT a reputable source! Etc.).
But now wiki is the least of it and if the more fake-news susceptible population can determine what’s wrong in 30 seconds, it can only help everyone.
Wikipedia is actually a really good place to start looking for information, because everything has to be sourced and documented. The references at the end of each entry is where you can find the real gold. It’s not intended to be used as the last or only word, but it’s definitely not to be dismissed. Also, for news, allsides.com is a very useful resource.
Thank you for sharing and amplifying the stories about the really important work H&M are doing. According to the media, including the US media, all they are doing is releasing tell-alls and making jam. They are serious people investing in essential work, and doing so much good in the world.
I’m glad they’re doing this. I worry about what kind of impact this could have on the election and we are definitely not prepared for it.
I’m sure there will be lots of screaming and crying about how the evil Sussexes are trying to make the Wailses look bad through this endeavor. But all that is so trivial. This is a real threat to a healthy democracy and their work on this means more than any ribbon cutting they could be doing over there.
Yeah, this is about saving democracy–and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness–but I wouldn’t be mad if it also got people thinking about what’s coming at ’em from KP & BP & etc.
Excellent use of time and resources and dovetails nicely with the Sussexes lived experiences of misinformation. I stan this! And it’s frightening necessary. I no longer have any confidence in the SC or about half (slightly less actually, but due to voter suppression and the electoral college…) of the voters.
I’m sure H&M have been working on this for a while, because it’s such a huge problem and is being misused by politicians, however the irony of what KP has been doing this year in terms of fakery is sadly amusing.
+1
ML, the fact that KP has been part of the mis/disinformation helps with the fact that more people are aware of what can be done.
Proud of the Sussexes and their Archewell Foundation for helping with this disinformation campaign.
I strongly second this emotion!
“That being said, the fact that the Sussexes are part of anti-AI/deepfake campaign at the same time as the Windsors’ credibility is in the toilet for their photo manipulations… well, it’s funny. Hilarious, even.”
Timing is perfection 🤭
I really hope people become more aware about this subject, it is terrifying how real some of these fakes are.
Re: timing. So far this 2024 it really seems like for every KP/BRF “loss “, the Sussexes gain a “win”. The Karma train really is pulling into the station for the BRF, lol
The tabloids will make this about Wm & Kate & how this kicks Kate while she’s down, blah blah blah. But this is impt work and frankly w Archwell involved could be a distraction from the issue & work all bc of their moronic fam’s Frankenphoto.
I think Archewell being involved will amplify the issue rather than detract especially among young people. I read that the entities behind a lot of the deep fakes plan to target TikTok users which tend to skew younger. They need to be aware of what to look out for because this is really scary.
Deeply necessary yes. Went to a 2-day legal AI conference at a uni recently. What I meant is that bc of Wm & Kate hacking up that photo, Archwell’s involvement will be interpreted as an attack and that story will be used to detract from that good work. If TikTok is absent of that narrative, great.
Yeah I’m glad they’re doing work on this bc it is scary. I feel really overwhelmed when people talk about deep fakes or AI. It feels like the Wild West. But it is funny bc how can they say the Sussexes being a part of this is about bashing Kate while she’s down. It’s just a reminder that Kate and KP are accused of using AI at North Korean propaganda levels.
This is great. I wish them well with this!
Brings me some hope
Tysm M + H
💕
Yey, go Harry and Megan. The future is such a scary place. To much media manipulation is happening, it’s affecting every part of people’s lives and seriously impacting on people’s mental health. People are afraid to believe the truth, because it’s getting to the stage where no one knows what it is or what’s real! We know (I hope) that trump cannot be allowed back into the white house and Jim (sicko) Jordan is as sick as trump is. I wish Megan and Harry and EVERYONE involved in this project all the luck in the world going forward with this, and if they need a few tips on how it’s done, Harry can always phone bone.
The more I read about AI and deep fakes, the scarier it sounds. And yes I know its a “tool” but a hammer can be used to kill people too.
Good for them! Just reading about the Sussexes and Archewell and their projects helps me to feel more empowered.
I’m troubled that as a country going into a critically important election, we don’t hear more about these issues. AI is becoming both more insidious and ubiquitous. A few weeks ago, I was struggling to get to an actual human person using an automated customer service phone line. Over and above my frustration, I was startled by how difficult it was to get beyond the offer to make a voice print — to identify me as a customer and to make future interactions “easier”. No, I do NOT want to give permission to a corporate to have/use/own my unique biometric data. No iris scans, fingerprints, or voice prints. But I also realized even as I sternly said “NO”— that even in declining I was providing data: Biometric data whose future usage I can not in any way control.
Oh, wow, I haven’t encountered the ‘voice print’ yet. Yikes! I get irritated enough having to type out numbers on my phone in order to get to talk to a real person, and then that real person asks me again for all those numbers I had to type in just to get to that person. Argghhh!!
It’s so amusing to me that H&M keep discombobulating the left overs in the uk.
The leftovers keep insisting on trying to pigeon-hole the Sussexes into their idea of what they think H&M want, i:e “HOLLYWOOD!!!”
Meanwhile H&M are out there NOT going to industry enertainment events, NOT going to HW parties and instead, being honored by HW (Meghan); and working/partnering wth not only HW bigwigs but also tech bigwigs; political bigwigs and financial bigwigs.
😆😆😆😆
Do u think the leftovers will be able to cope when M’s latest venture goes fully public?😂
This is much needed work because as we’ve seen since the 2016 election there is very serious interference taking place in our electoral process.
I also can’t help but notice that once again Harry and Meghan are on the right side of history. The Windsors who use these same gaslighting tactics, bot, trolls, disinformation and misinformation to perpetuate themselves continue to represent every institution that does all it can to hold back a free and fair society.
Once again, Harry and Meghan are so impressive in what they choose to do with their fame, and their money, their goodwill and knowlege. It is ironic isn’t it, what the other brother chooses to do. The misuses of AI is a monster beginning to rear its ugly head, and I am grateful that Harry and Meghan are lending their ideas and support in efforts to combat what could be many frightfully bad outcomes.
Harry and Meghan ‘s Archewell is doing something than just sitting on their hands and crying about it-this AI stuff is very serious and scary-Musicians are already to do battle in this area-Actors are doing battle in this area-everyday citizens are trying to battle against this because in the future this will cost them jobs-nobody with any sense want their image used for something evil or disgusting-nobody I know want words put in their mouths that can be damaging or cause harm to others-Mainly they are working behind the scenes to come up with ideas to combat this invasion