Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has announced a fresh initiative intended to combat the proliferation of deceptive media known as deepfakes. Musk stated that this move “should make a big difference in defeating deepfakes (and shallowfakes).”

Shallowfakes, different from deepfakes because of their creation without the aid of artificial intelligence (AI), include manipulated videos, photos, and voice clips achieved through easily accessible editing and software tools.

In a connected development, X has implemented a feature wherein notes on images are displayed automatically on posts containing matching images. According to a particular spokesperson from the company, “It’s common for these notes to match on dozens, hundreds and sometimes thousands of posts. Now, you can see how many posts an image note is matching on, right in note details.”

Amid the global election season, serious concerns have been raised by experts vis-à-vis the dissemination of misinformation and the potential effect of deepfakes on electoral processes. The independent Oversight Board, comprising of 22 global human rights and freedom of expression experts, has demanded urgent action to address the threat posed by deepfakes to global elections.

The update under discussion here is intended to fight deepfakes and shallowfakes on social media platform X and hence can be termed proactive and serious step against the spread of deceptive media. The update, dubbed ‘improved image matching,’ presents an amplified level of scrutiny on social media content, targeting manipulated images and videos in particular.

Under this fresh initiative, X will now show notes on 30 % more posts that contain identical or similar images, thereby aiding users to discern potential cases of misinformation or fabricated media. Furthermore, the platform will implement rigorous monitoring mechanisms to recognise and address flawed image matches, boosting its efforts to combat the dissemination of deceptive content. Elon Musk emphasized the worth of this initiative, stating that it “should make a big difference in defeating deepfakes (and shallowfakes).”

Parallel development under discussion here is also no less important. X has presented a feature wherein notes on images are automatically shown on posts containing matching images. According to a particular spokesperson from the company, this feature lets users to measure the extent of image matches across multiple posts, offering valuable context and insight into the incidence of potentially deceptive content.

The introduction of improved image matching comes amid growing concerns surrounding the effect of deepfakes on global elections. With the impending spectre of manipulation and misinformation casting a shadow over electoral processes worldwide, specialists have sounded alarm bells about the urgent need for tough measures to fight the threat posed by deepfakes.