Too many of us have experienced “gaslighting” from a romantic partner where the constant lies and manipulation end up making us question our own sanity. Truth is an elusive concept subject to perception which makes it manipulable. This is what gaslighters do in order to gain power and control over their partners. The only way a victim can deal with a gaslighter's game is first to recognize it, something that is much easier said than done. But most often the only tenable solution is to cut them out of your life for the sake of your own sanity and well-being.
“Deepfakes” is the new-ish name for doctored or manipulated videos, many of which are quite easy to spot but are becoming better and better. They are part and parcel of the fake news and fake facts that slosh around the social media and spill into the news media. This all amounts to political gaslighting intended to make you feel overwhelmed and helpless. You know that sinking in quicksand feeling that washes over you each time you see a new story about the issue, probably including this one. You wonder how you can possibly begin to figure out what is true and what isn't. You vow to quit Facebook but then don't.
It feels even more desperate when these fakes are shared via Twitter by the so-called leader of the free world, yet President Donald Trump's tenuous relationship with the truth has gotten predictable and boring. At end of May, he tweeted a video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosithat had been altered to make it look like she was stuttering or even slurring her words like a drunk person. It was quickly proven a fake by comparing it to the original video, but Facebook refused to take it down, then it just disappeared. Facebook denied removing it and the U.S. Congress is currently investigating.
During a recent talk organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and leading the above-mentioned investigation, explained that even when a video of this type is proven fake, the victem may never be able to shed the damage. This is called the “liar's dividend.” The Poynter Institute explainsthat “debunking fake or manipulated material like videos, audios or documents, ultimately could stoke belief in the fakery. As a result, even after the fake is exposed, it will be harder for the public to trust any information on that particular topic.” Just about everyone has access to the technology to change a video and make it look like someone is doing or saying something they haven't. Much of this started with celebrities (think fake celebrity pornography) but now it is moving on to politicians, which can have devastating affects on democracy.
According to Schiff, when no one can tell what is true and what isn't, they tend to retreat into their “tribes”, meaning only speaking to people and following news and social media that support their own political point of view. Studies show that when we retreat to one extreme or the other of the political spectrum, it causes us to become more radical. Conversely, those who mix it up with people and media that challenge their views end up in the more moderate center.
A recent Pew Research pollshowed that while Americans blame political leaders and activists groups for the prevalence of made-up news much more than they blame journalists. Yet they do think that the news media should take the biggest share of the responsibility for reducing it. This shows a deep lack of understanding about where the fakes come from, how the news media works and their enormous differences in standards, the role of social media platforms and the consequences for our democracies. But much like when you're in a relationship with a gaslighter, no one else can solve the problem for you.
We can't take this technology away from everyone nor does Facebook and other social media have any interest in the impossible task of policing the truth—nor should they. Perhaps the news media should continue to expose the fakes, but that just spins the lie some more, further embedding it into the minds of believers. Experts predictthat the U.S. 2020 presidential election will be flooded with deepfakes and that the Democratic candidates are woefully unprepared for it. Advice ranges from putting a rapid response plan into place to constantly filming their own candidates so that they can prove when a video has been manipulated. But don't think this is just happening in the U.S.–the various iterations of fake are not contained by borders and prefer democracies, the more open to free speech, the better.
Like with the gaslighter, the only way to protect our own emotional health, will be to learn how recognize deepfakes along with other attempts to manipulate your political views so that you can avoid them and cut them out of your media diet. Here's a nine-point plan for doing so. Sure, it takes a little work and effort but democracy is worth it.
This op-ed was published in Spanish en El Español.