Historical footage of Richard Nixon, modified, as seen in IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER, co-directed by ⒸFrancesca Panetta and Halsey Burgund. The work is shown in the exhibition "Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen"/ Courtesy of MIT and Halsey Burgund

Written By Aaron Norton

Typically, film is a fairly stable process – observe, point and shoot. It’s a medium that exposes the truth rather than masks it. But with technological advancements and an emphasis on deception, we’ve been introduced to a new phenomenon associated with the world of film: “deepfake” videos. The idea is relatively simple: a person’s face is replaced by a computer-generated face to completely change the identity of the original person on the screen. In essence, a CGI mask is created, and depending on how good the deepfake is, they are incredibly difficult to detect.

At the Museum of the Moving Image, located in Queens, NY, the current exhibition on display is bringing the history of the deepfake video to the audience. With Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen, the viewer is brought into the world of the misleading media in a number of different ways by showcasing a variety of installations that address how someone can spot a deepfake, how deepfake videos are made and of course, an example of a deepfake video in its entirety.

Instllation view of "In Event of Moon Disaster," an Emmy Award–winning project co-directed by Francesca Panetta and Halsey Burgund. "In Event of Moon Disaster" is an MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality production./ ⒸThanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image

For instance, what if this technology was used to change the course of history? That’s exactly what the centerpiece of the current exhibition on display at the Museum of the Moving Image is setting out to answer. The centerpiece revolves around a short film titled In Event of Moon Disaster, a six-minute-long production that reimagines the 1969 Apollo 11 mission by showing an alternative, more grisly ending for those who were a part of the legendary mission. With deepfake technology, the audience is shown a realistic video where then president, Richard Nixon addressing the nation after the astronauts on board were not able to return home safely.

This contingency speech was produced and created by the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality and the team utilized different techniques to match Richard Nixon’s speaking voice, facial expressions and movements of his mouth and lips. With these techniques, the viewer may find it incredibly difficult to spot the differences between the real Richard Nixon and the “deepfake” Nixon. In fact, to the untrained eye, you might not even notice a difference.

Installation view: "How do you spot a deepfake?" invites visitors to look for visual clues that might give away the deepfake in these videos centered around public figures./ ⒸThanassi Karageorgiou / Museum of the Moving Image

The current exhibition on display is interesting, informative and a bit frightening because it makes you think about the possible ramifications of the synthetic media and its uses – especially because the technology is so new and we don’t know the full extent of its sinister capabilities yet – but at the same time, the exhibition also sends another message by touching on subjects like the spread of misinformation and deepfake technology in our current society.

A behind-the-scenes explanatory image of how AI mapping was used to create IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER./ ⒸDominic Smith / courtesy of MIT and Halsey Burgund

Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen will be on display at the Museum of the Moving Image until May 15. For more information on the current exhibition, future events and more associated with the museum, please visit their website here.

Photo Editor: Chris Zarcadoolas