Like so many other things on the internet, the viral video “Sassy Justice” seemed too good to be true when it started showing up on television and then on the internet earlier this week. Sassy conducts what he claims is an interview with Al Gore and spars with the unscrupulous owner of a dialysis center, who looks an awful lot like Mark Zuckerberg. All the while, he warns of the dangers of deepfakes: sophisticated computer-generated images that have been manipulated to look like familiar people engaging in actions that never happened and speaking words they never uttered. Of course, “Sassy Justice” itself is an elaborate series of deepfakes — starting with its host — designed to mock leaders and celebrities while calling out the risks that such videos pose to our understanding of truth and reality. And although its creators did not immediately identify themselves when it first appeared, the video is the handiwork of experienced satirists: Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of “South Park,” and Peter Serafinowicz, the actor and voice artist.

Source: New York Times October 29, 2020 15:33 UTC