SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Experts say knowing what to trust online is becoming increasingly difficult as artificial intelligence makes it easier to create convincing fake videos and images. As a result, more and more people are having trouble discerning what is true and what is false.
Edie Archuleta says she frequently encounters questionable content and is cautious about what she sees online.
“Always, always,” she said. “We don’t know if it’s real, fake, or too good to be true.”
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she is not alone. Some say it’s not always easy to identify false content.
Experts point to artificial intelligence as a key factor in the proliferation of misleading and fabricated media.
“Deepfakes and AI have reached a point where they are difficult to detect,” said Malik Rowe, an emerging technology student at Utah Valley University. He added that research shows only about 50% to 55% of people can accurately identify deepfakes, and that he expects that number to decrease as technology improves.
Its influence extends beyond your social media feed. Brandon Amacher, a leading technology and national security researcher, said people tend to trust information delivered through deepfakes almost as much as real human content.
“There is no longer any difference in how trustworthy, knowledgeable, or trustworthy people view information if it is conveyed through a deepfake or by a real person,” Amacher said. “The effect is basically the same.”
He warned that such content could further deepen divisions.
“It is something that is being used to foster division at home and around the world,” Amacher said. “There is no healthy civil discourse unless we can even agree on a common set of facts.”
Not all misleading content is politically motivated. Some are created solely for the purpose of generating views and revenue.
“They’re not necessarily scams, they’re often just the content creator trying to make money,” says Sarah Kimmel, a Utah-based family technology expert.
Kimmel described videos intended to go viral, such as one showing a car sliding down an icy hill unscathed, which he said ignore reality.
“The longer you watch, the more hours you watch, the better the sponsorships,” she says.
She advises viewers to look for warning signs such as unnatural movements, violations of the laws of physics, and visual glitches such as distorted hands or blurred edges.
“Look for teachings that say, ‘Okay, the laws of physics don’t apply here,'” Kimmel says. She added that viewers should also wonder if the actions look realistic.
When it comes to unclear content, experts recommend a skeptical approach, especially if something evokes a strong emotional response.
“If you see something that really evokes an emotional response, something that you really want to believe, or something that makes you outraged, that’s a good indicator to do an additional level of investigation before adopting that information,” Amacher said.
Lowe encourages people to check their sources and be more intentional about what they consume online.
“We need to look at the real source, where it’s coming from, and we need to be proactive about what we actually see and believe,” he says.
For many users, limiting engagement with questionable content is also part of the strategy.
“The more you touch it, the more it seems to come through,” Kai Henriksen said. “So I try not to interact with it because I don’t want it on my feed.”
In an era of rapidly evolving technology, experts have found that seeing is believing.
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