Digital Deception: 30 Images And Videos That The Internet Tricked Us Into Believing Were Real

With all of the digital deception circulating online, it’s gotten to the point that we take everything we see at face value. This can have dangerous consequences. So, here are 30 examples of how people were fooled by “fake” or deceiving internet media. 

The Hollywood actor behind this TikTok account is named Miles Fisher, a well-known Tom Cruise doppelganger. It’s very uncanny how much the two look alike, even down to their mannerisms and gestures. But, we all know that it’s not actually Tom Cruise, just an actor using deepfake technology for fun. Fooled? Yes.

Higgins told the Associated Press, “I had assumed that people would realize Donald Trump has two legs, not three.” If you look closely enough, you will notice that it does subtly appear he has a third leg in the enhanced photo. Obviously, most people didn’t even bother to zoom in!

The image was created using the AI technology Chat GPT/DALLE-2. This AI-generated photo proves that digital manipulation can create a riff in reality, spreading images that are not rooted in any semblance of truth. Be careful what you believe because, in most cases, it’s not what you think it is. Especially online.

Deepfake crossovers in movies are quite popular these days, and this Jim Carrey example certainly isn’t the first. All we know is that we would love to see Carrey step into that role – he surely would nail it.

While the swapping of faces is almost too real, it’s also done very subtly. Deepfake creator Shamook on YouTube chillingly succeeded with this AI rendering of Maguire in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer. It’s beyond incredible what can be done with technology today and how it impacts the future of filmmaking.

You’re probably thinking: how is this so realistic? There’s a few key components going on here. Of course, the visuals are important, but it’s the audio editing and perfectly timed audience laughter that lend to the credibility of this deepfake. 

Done by none other than the YouTuber Shamook, he shared that he was actually hired to create the deepfake. In fact, the revolutionary visual effects company, Industrial Light and Magic behind the early effects of the Star Wars films, scouted Shamook for the job. Pretty crazy! 

This deepfake account is primarily used for comedic purposes, but it can pose a larger implication for celebrities themselves. Companies can use deepfake technology on actors to make it seem as if they’re endorsing their products when they actually aren’t. While we are aware this isn’t actually Keanu Reeves, it still feels real enough. 

So, last year, when a deepfake of Korean newscaster Kim Joo-Ha circulated, it made people think about how deepfakes could be implemented into the mainstream. While the Korean news channel MBN used its own version of Kim Joo-Ha and explicitly stated it up front, it’s frightening to think that newsreaders might not even be needed in the future. 

In this example, the actress Lynda Carter (who starred in the ‘70s TV show Wonder Woman), is used in lieu of Gal Gadot, our newest Wonder Woman. This mash-up created by the YouTuber, DeepFaker, allows us to imagine what the 2017 Wonder Woman remake would look like if Carter starred in it. 

Comedian, actor, and director Jordan Peele was involved with this particular one. Using After Effects CC and FakeApp, Peele’s mouth was placed over Obama’s, subsequently utilizing his jawline instead of Obama’s. Then, for 50-plus hours, the footage was refined through automatic processing, and voila – this is the result. Such high-profile figures like Obama are often the source of these deepfakes. 

Created using Canny AI’s VDR (video dialogue replacement) software, the purpose of the video was to raise awareness about how social media can manipulate people. It’s already fairly convincing and seems as if the real Mark Zuckerberg is speaking and the actor doing the voice work is impressive.

The Ctrl Shift Face team clearly wasn’t doing anything deceiving with this content, they just made Hader’s impersonations appear more realistic and uncanny. It’s also a prime example of how the right actor can accurately and spookily recreate the voice and mannerisms of the original source. 

The Dalí Museum put on an exhibit called “Dalí Lives” where Dalí would be the host. Dalí – who frequently pulled off his own publicity stunts – would have thrived in this environment. The exhibit was miraculously and tirelessly created by combing through 6,000 frames from past video interviews, then processing them through 1,000 hours of machine learning. The last step was to overlap Dali’s face with an actor’s to achieve a realistic effect.

This Collider video features deepfakes of famous actors Tom Cruise, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Downey Jr., and director George Lucas. It’s pretty hilarious how spot-on and realistic each of the deepfakes is and it’s as if the real figures are actually present in the room. 

Created by Midjourney, an AI image generator, the photo spread like wildfire on social media. Even Chrissy Teigen posted about it on Twitter to her 12.9 million followers. Internet users were going crazy over the AI-generated image, boasting excitement with the possibility of Pope Francis wearing a jacket like that. 

It’s remarkable because there are no visible traces of Clinton’s rendered face. As deep learning technology becomes more advanced, recognizing what is and isn’t a deepfake will only bring about an increasing sense of concern.

Due to the timing of the athlete’s tragic passing, the video made a massive impact on viewers. Within the first couple of days, it garnered millions of views. Lamar used deepfake technology with DEEP VOODOO to pay a special tribute to the late Laker icon. The facial rendering occurs so seamlessly that it really looks like Bryant. 

The Morgan Freeman deepfake is actually so creepily realistic that it’s unsettling. One of the top commenters wrote, “I genuinely fear for our future.” Yet again, this is just another testament that as AI technology advances, the line between reality and fiction blurs. Don’t trust what you see, people.

Meskimen’s impressions are absolutely flawless, and paired with the faces of each actor, you could easily be fooled. Seamlessly, his face shifts from actor to actor in an eerie yet incredible manner. He had some assistance from the U.K.-based YouTuber Shamook, who is at the top of the deepfake game.  

In this case, the side-by-side comparison showed the original video of U.S. representative, Nancy Pelosi, next to a fake one. The altered video (which people didn’t know wasn’t real) showed Pelosi stammering during a press conference. It was shared by Donald Trump on Twitter, obviously showing Pelosi in a bad light. 

The voice and tone of Jimmy McGill are too on the mark. Plus the fact that the facial movement is seamlessly integrated. It really looks as though Trump is actually there saying those lines. This is yet another instance where deepfake technology raises the question: what other technological improvements will continue to happen in the medium? 

Why is this even necessary you may ask? That can be up for debate, but it just further proves how versatile AI technology really is and all the possibilities it offers. Clearly, developers want ot keep pushing and exploring the limits of AI. 

Complete with room photos, the name, address, the face of the host, and the listing description, it’s undeniable that a person could fall for something like this. Certainly, people can use AI technology to create fake listings to fool potential Airbnb customers. Has this gone too far? 

Male actors are hired by a casting director to match the leader’s ethnicity. They also must be able to perform realistic voice impersonations so the portrayal is believable. Although the resemblance to the actual Kim Jong-Un is quite uncanny, the make-up and costume team still had to put in a lot of work to achieve the final result. As they say, it takes a village (of people).

As part of a specific moving image project, Posters included dedicated hashtags in the description to not mislead anybody. However, if no hashtags were included for context, people would think that’s actually Kim Kardashian. And, that’s where things could get risky. 

The people are nonexistent and the photos were never actually taken. Midjourney, an AI platform, was behind the creation. While at first glance the images do give off a somewhat “realistic” vibe, there are glaringly obvious problems. Two of the girls have way too many teeth and some are missing essential body parts. Honestly, these might give us nightmares. 

This video spread like wildfire on social media, gaining millions of views. Even Elon Musk (who has openly stated his opposition to the advancement of AI) replied with two fire emojis. The term “synthetic media” is evolving and it’s probable that in less than five years, entering feedback and basic prompts into an AI program will result in realistic and intriguing content. 

Curt Skelton, a 22-year-old college student, thoroughly convinced the internet that he was AI-generated. Apparently, Skelton, and his friend in the VFX industry, Zahra Hussein, fooled millions of people by thinking he was the fake one. Turns out – he was real! But…Zahra? One TikToker replied, “How do we know she’s not the AI…”