The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes

First the NYer Andrew Tate story, now this NYT deep fake story by Eli Saslow: Two features--both beautifully reported and written--this week that even for a doom-n-gloom type like me are so much worse than I thought. We must attend and contend: Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Don’t believe your eyes. So much of photographs and videos are now fake and almost indistinguishable from reality. Take time before jumping to conclusions. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“I feel like I’m going blind,” Farid said, and he worried that A.I. was obscuring the truth, distorting reality, fracturing democracies and slowly breaking him, too. A gift link to an extraordinary story because if he has to see we should too www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Great profile of Hany Farid who recently left Bay Area for Vermont: "I can’t stand this place anymore... These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

"For most of his career, he had been charged with identifying the rare fake in a world of shared truths. But now fakes were the norm and truth was elusive..." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit. They’re not interested in anything that’s going to slow them down.” A haunting and beautiful profile of my @cybercivilrights.bsky.social colleague Dr. Hany Farid & his work www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

"For most of his career, he had been charged with identifying the rare fake in a world of shared truths. But now fakes were the norm and truth was elusive." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

In other news, lots of art history in today's NY Times (thread). First up: profile of digital forensics expert Hany Farid, who talks about being profoundly influenced by this Jose Clemente Orozco Dartmouth mural of grotesque, skeletal academics in a burning world www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“We’re pretty screwed.” AKA, Why you should question videos on social media… Free gift article from The New York Times.

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u... The Worlds Leading Deep Fake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes

When even experts start questioning whether they can distinguish the fakes from reality, we're in trouble. "These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they're making a profit. They're not interested in anything that's going to slow them down."

Great read: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Not enough is being said about our present-day reality bomb: we can no longer tell if a video is real or fake. Not even the experts. If you want to have nightmares tonight, read this. 👇🏻 www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u... H/t @etvpod.bsky.social

“I don’t trust anything. Every image I see, I’m drawing lines for shadows and doing geometry in my head, trying to figure out what I’m looking at. It’s over. Within a year or two, our whole visual system will be utterly useless.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

You think you know about AI slop, but this is an important story. Intel agencies have had these specific worries & challenges for over a decade. See how the analysis is done by an expert www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u... A long ut terrifying article about how AI is becoming indetectable and can be used for every nefarious purpose

One of many astounding details in this piece on deep fakes: “Now thousands of N. Korean gov’t operatives were applying for remote jobs at U.S. companies, using A.I. to impersonate Americans on video calls & then funding a nuclear weapons program with their salaries.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“Within a year or two, our whole visual system will be utterly useless.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

« Je ne fais plus confiance à rien. » Quand l’un des meilleurs experts pour détecter les vraies des fausses images ne sait plus … www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

This is of course very troubling. But I can’t help wonder why the process described here—a leading expert at photographic forensics not being able to tell the difference between an AI video and a real event—is entirely sandboxed in the video. There is other evidence of events!

“I don’t trust anything. Every image I see, I’m drawing lines for shadows and doing geometry in my head, trying to figure out what I’m looking at. It’s over. Within a year or two, our whole visual system will be utterly useless.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

A profile of UC Berkeley professor Hany Farid, the world's leading digital forensics expert for 20+ years, who says he is now struggling to identify AI fakes (New York Times) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

If experts struggle to reliably identify deepfakes, it becomes even more important to teach widespread, up-to-date media and digital literacy skills. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

““I can’t stand this place anymore,” he said. “These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit. They’re not interested in anything that’s going to slow them down.”” Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Really interesting read. One of the world’s leading deepfake experts on the massive problem of discerning what’s real and what’s not. He still believes it’s mostly possible to detect the difference. The problem is, in the meantime, things go ultra-viral. Gift link. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

GIFT 🎁 The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes! In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself. @bibliophile99.bsky.social @theothermike.bsky.social @charlesbastille.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

"'I feel like I’m going blind,' Farid said, and he worried that A.I. was obscuring the truth, distorting reality, fracturing democracies and slowly breaking him, too." This piece... (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

@olivia.science @kh0rish.bsky.social I'm getting a LOT of criti-hype vibes from this www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Let's just declare this a reality and call it a day The world's leading deepfake expert declares he can no longer reliably identify deepfakes (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Okay I feel like I'm going crazy, but this NYT article was only published yesterday yet I *know* I read it weeks ago, maybe months ago www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

*Gift article* We're in trouble folks. Check sources before re-posting anything. #AI #DeepFakes

In Age of AI, World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/us/ai-deepfake-hany-farid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qFA.A6Fe.SMasD7T0VSmU&smid=bs-share

Argh! www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/us/ai-deepfake-hany-farid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qVA.DjHi.4pfxFWcipp9p&smid=url-share

This is so so good and scary. “I can’t stand this place anymore,” he said. “These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit. They’re not interested in anything that’s going to slow them down.” Leading Deepfake Expert www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

"For more than two decades, Farid, 60, had been the world’s leading expert in the field of digital forensics, but in the last six months he’d stopped trusting his own eyes." #Democrats www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Really interesting piece. Gift article. “I can’t stand this place anymore,” he said. “These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit. They’re not interested in anything that’s going to slow them down.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

#giftarticle #Geschenklink "In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit. They’re not interested in anything that’s going to slow them down. We’re pretty screwed. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“This technology is being weaponized against us. The train has left the station. It’s accelerating at a speed that’s unbelievable…We’re pretty screwed.”

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“So, the creation of deepfakes is easy, cheap, fast and reliable,” the student said. “Detection is costly and difficult.” “Yes,” Farid said. “Is there a solution in the near future, or are we just screwed?” “We’re pretty screwed,” he said. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“In a year or two, our whole visual system will be utterly useless.“ www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u... “This technology is being weaponized against us,” he told the students. “The train has left the station. It’s accelerating at a speed that’s unbelievable.”

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

This is truly frightening. Even the experts can't tell what's real anymore. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“I don’t trust anything. Every image I see, I’m drawing lines for shadows and doing geometry in my head, trying to figure out what I’m looking at. It’s over. Within a year or two, our whole visual system will be utterly useless.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“Every time there’s a big news event, we are just drowning in slop” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“For most of his career, he had been charged with identifying the rare fake in a world of shared truths. But now fakes were the norm and truth was elusive.”

A longer but worthwhile read. If he says we're screwed, I'm going to assume we're pretty much screwed. (gift article) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

In Age of AI, World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

"For more than two decades, Farid, 60, had been the world’s leading expert in the field of digital forensics, but in the last six months he’d stopped trusting his own eyes."

A great profile of top media forensics expert Hany Farid, a gem of a resource for journalists and investigators. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Regardless of where one stands on A.I., the ways it is being used by bad actors to lie to us are dangerous and depressing. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

NYT on #AI: The world's leading deepfake expert no longer trusts his own eyes https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/us/ai-deepfake-hany-farid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qFA.3YHm.LWbLuflyMqmv&smid=nytcore-ios-share

The era of social media convinced us that we could crowd source our information and skip the expert curators like journalists. We were wrong. And this article describes the end state of that era. Reliable sources have never been more valuable. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

"Farid’s own research had proven that most people could no longer distinguish a real photograph from a digital creation, a real voice from an A.I. clone, a real video clip from a wholesale fabrication. Lately, he was failing his own tests." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

"The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes" "It’s over. Within a year or two, our whole visual system will be utterly useless.” Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Saslow siren www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World's Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes Gift Link 🎁

if this doesnt scare you, nothing will. just wait for the gop magat machine to kick into high gear before the election. their videos will attack every dem with lies & ppl will believe them.. (they might even try to make millerferatu look human-ish) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

In Age of AI, World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

NYT on #AI: The world's leading deepfake expert no longer trusts his own eyes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Caveat Emptor www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

We seem to be approaching a self-inflicted societal inability to understand reality. Disbelief will become self-defense, creating a world in which everything seems possible, yet no shared understanding of reality exists. Looking forward to logging off a lot more until the nukes go off. (gift link)

V depressing. This is the crux: "For most of his career, he had been charged with identifying the rare fake in a world of shared truths. But now fakes were the norm and truth was elusive." The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

In a world where we can no longer trust our own eyes how do we know what’s real and what’s a #deepfake ? This article in today’s @nytimes.com asks that question. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself. June 14, 2026 Eli Saslow Visuals by Erin Schaff www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Deepfakes? This is an alarming but beautifully written story. It could be a screenplay for a great movie. Well, the first half of a screenplay, anyhow. (Gift article)

Unlocked.

Don’t believe your eyes. So much of photographs and videos are now fake and almost in distinguishable from reality. Take time before jumping to conclusions. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

I'd just walked through the Orozco mural room before reading this piece, and was musing on the exact image Farid mentions. I hope Farid and Cooper find the solace they need. I sure hope we all do. 🎁 link. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

This is moving so fast :-( Gift article from The New York Times. ://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/us/ai-deepfake-hany-farid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qlA.9gPi.lHzxVn6RYDXt&smid=bs-share

This is no longer science fiction. Eventually, this new phenomenon will widen the gap even further between the educated and uneducated and will change the way we do and see almost everything. For better or for worse. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes. In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/us/ai-deepfake-hany-farid.html

“‘I feel like I’m going blind,’ Farid said, and he worried that A.I. was obscuring the truth, distorting reality, fracturing democracies and slowly breaking him, too.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

"For over 2 decades, Farid, 60, had been the world’s leading expert in digital forensics, but in the last 6 months he’d stopped trusting his own eyes... he worried that A.I. was obscuring the truth, distorting reality, fracturing democracies and slowly breaking him" www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

What took him so long?

"Every image I see, I’m drawing lines for shadows and doing geometry in my head, trying to figure out what I’m looking at. It’s over. Within a year or two, our whole visual system will be utterly useless.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

'A nontechnical criminal, Farid said, could now use a still photograph and a 10-second audio clip to shape shift into anyone online.' That is, phishing is about to go ballistic. Make sure you agree on specific call-signs with those you know. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

This is really frightening. 🎁 link

These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit. They’re not interested in anything that’s going to slow them down. And professors mere skeletons turned away from a burning world.

www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“This technology is being weaponized against us. The train has left the station. It’s accelerating at a speed that’s unbelievable.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u... “These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit. They’re not interested in anything that’s going to slow them down.”

It’s stayed with me all these years as “I should write that one for real” but until recently, I felt like it wouldn’t work in a world where Facebook/Instagram rules instead of MSN Messenger. Now with AI, though, I’m like oh, I should have written this 5 years ago. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...

“I can’t stand this place anymore...These major tech giants will burn everything to the ground as long as they’re making a profit. They’re not interested in anything that’s going to slow them down.” #AI #Deepfakes www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...