Deepfake video with Scholz infuriates German government
An artists' collective installs posters in front of the Federal Chancellery showing AfD politicians behind bars. The group later publishes a video online with a fake speech by Chancellor Scholz. Government spokesperson Hebestreit criticizes the campaign and reserves the right to take legal action.
A satirical campaign with a deceptively real but fake video speech by Chancellor Olaf Scholz has angered the German government. "We are not taking this lightly at all," said government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin. Such forgeries "stir up uncertainty and are manipulative". It is still unclear whether the campaign will have legal consequences - "we'll have to take a look at that first", said Hebestreit.
The political satire and art group Zentrum für politische Schönheit had initially put up fake posters in front of the Chancellery in the morning showing leading AfD politicians behind bars. The fake news about a ban on the AfD was also spread. A video then appeared on the internet with a supposed speech in which Chancellor Scholz appears to justify the ban. The video was apparently generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).
Hebestreit admitted that the video was deceptively real. "I think the language in particular is very close to the original," said the Scholz spokesperson. "It can be funny" - but the German government still wanted to "warn against such steps in principle", Hebestreit added. This is because such fake recordings make it "increasingly difficult to distinguish between real and fake". Such fakes are used "to influence public opinion".
Dealing with the phenomenon is not easy for the German government, Hebestreit admitted. "We don't have the option of setting up a Ministry of Truth and then the government says: that's true and that's not true." A working group of the Federal Chancellery with several ministries is currently working on strategies against the increasing disinformation. Results could be presented in the summer.
As part of the satire campaign, the Center for Political Beauty launched a website on the AfD ban. The group explained that "over 1,500 facts about around 350 people are recorded there, which underline the threat, urgency and seriousness of the project". This marks a "decisive step in the fight against right-wing extremism in Germany and for the preservation of democracy".
Source: www.ntv.de
