The Video Of Barack Obama Using Slang Is A Deepfake.

Recently a video of former US President Barack Obama has been sent to our 24*7 Factline number 9049053770 requesting a fact check. In the video, Barack Obama can be heard saying, “In which our enemies can make it look like anyone is saying anything at any point in time. Even if they would never say those things. So, for instance, they could have me say things like, I don’t know, “Killmonger was right”, or “Ben Carson is in the sunken place”, or, how about this, simply, “President Trump is a total and complete dipshit”. Now, you see, I would never say these things. At least not in a public address. But, someone else would”(sic).

Archived Link.

However, as we investigated, we came to know that the video was made using a combination of Adobe After Effects video software and FakeApp, an AI programme. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by conducting a relevant keyword search and as a result, we found the longer version of the video on the YouTube channel “BuzzFeedVideo”. The video was uploaded on 17 April 2018. The caption of the video read, “You Won’t Believe What Obama Says In This Video! 😉”

In the video, Barack Obama says, “We are entering an era in which our enemies can make it look like anyone is saying anything at any point in time. Even if they would never say those things. So, for instance, they could have me say things like, I don’t know, “Killmonger was right”, or “Ben Carson is in the sunken place”, or, how about this, simply, “President Trump is a total and complete dips*it”. Now, you see, I would never say these things. At least not in a public address. But, someone else would”. After this point, the screen splits and another person appears on the screen along with Obama. The person is Oscar-winning filmmaker, actor Jordan Peele. Now with the same voice Jordan Peele’s lips movement also starts along with Obama. The video continues with both men speaking simultaneously the same words in one voice- “Someone like Jordan Peel. This is a dangerous time. Moving forward, we need to be more vigilant with what we trust from the internet. It’s a time when we need to rely on trusted news sources. May sound basic, but how we move forward, age of information is gonna be the difference between whether we survive or whether we become some kind of f*cked up dystopia. Thank you, and stay woke b*tches”. Thus, the video ends and a screen appears with text written as “A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MONKEYPAW PRODUCTIONS AND BUZZFEED”.

Moving forward, we found a video report uploaded on the YouTube channel “Good Morning America”. The caption of the video reads, “Jordan Peele uses AI, President Obama in fake news PSA”

According to the report, Jordan Peele produced the video of Obama, which used artificial intelligence, with BuzzFeed to warn about the future of fake news.

Further, we found a video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of BBC that explained the deepfake video of Barack Obama that Jordan Peel made.

We also found a news report published in The Washington Times on 18 April 2018. It read, “BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti released the video as a public service announcement about the growing abilities of technology to ratchet the fake news environment to a new level. At one point, Peele is shown in the video in a side-by-side with Obama, while both men speak simultaneously the same words, in one voice: “This is a dangerous time. Moving forward we need to be more vigilant with what we trust from the Internet. It’s a time where we need to rely on trusted news sources.”

Please read here. Archived Link.

Another report says that BuzzFeed video producer used a combination of Adobe After Effects video software and FakeApp, an AI program.

Archived Link.

A report from BuzzFeed can be read here. Archived Link.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the viral video of Barack Obama is a deepfake video. The video was created by the Oscar Oscar-winning filmmaker, actor and writer Jordan Peele with BuzzFeed to warn the viewers about trusting material they encounter online.