On Monday, China’s internet regulator announced it had launched a campaign to rid China of fake news.
China’s National Cyberspace Administration (CAC) said the crackdown was to “clarify and standardize the order of network communications on key traffic links” and focused on news providers such as short-form video platforms and popular search listings. said there is.
The organization also uses AI virtual anchors, faked studio scenes, fake news accounts created to mimic existing legitimate accounts, and distorted stories as techniques to provoke netizens’ emotions to attract attention and traffic. citing cutting and pasting of news pieces for the sake of, and other manipulation acts. Or even for malicious purposes. In other words, clickbait.
The CAC said it had already “cleaned up” 107,000 fake news accounts and fake anchors and 835,000 false information. Internet regulators are urging the public to report any such fake news accounts online.
Chinese police said last week that they had detained an individual for using ChatGPT to create fake news, in accordance with the country’s AI Media Law aimed at cracking down on fake news that relies on AI-generated content, including deepfakes.
The detained man, Hong, from Gansu, China, used ChatGPT to create a news story about a train accident that killed nine construction workers. The news was quickly spread by his 21 social media accounts, garnering 15,000 views.
Police searched Mr. Hong’s home and took unspecified action against him. Police reported that the motive behind the crime was to increase traffic.
On Monday, AI image generator Midjourney reportedly announced on WeChat that a beta version of its product is now available in China. At the moment, users must access the platform via his Tencent’s her QQ channel.
ChatGPT is currently not available in China, but users can access it using a supported country phone number and a virtual private network (VPN). China restricts access to foreign phone numbers and VPNs.
The AI-Generated Media Act came into effect on January 10, 2023. Local police claim that the law has been applied for the first time in Gansu province.
The law not only targets individuals like Hong, but also “deep synthesis service providers” to prevent their AI algorithms from being abused for fraud, deception, misinformation and other illegal activities. is required.
For companies like WeChat maker Tencent, this is likely to be a problem. The company recently announced a deepfake-as-a-service product that gives customers the chance to create their own high-definition digital humans for just $145. . ®
