Tony Fernandes rues viral deepfake video, chides Facebook

 

Capital A Bhd chief executive officer Tony Fernandes has censured Facebook for allowing a deepfake video of him to go viral.

Describing himself as a big fan of social media, he said that apart from bringing the world closer, it is also a source for information.

However, he pointed out that not enough is being done outside of the United States concerning content moderation to “better detect and deter the spread of false information”.

“We expect more from a company that claims to connect the world and build communities, “ he added in a social media post.

Deepfake videos refer to videos created by leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to imitate the likeness of a real person, including by convincingly imitating the person’s voice and appearance.

Such videos have gained attention for their ease of use and potential abuse for purposes such as perpetuating scams, spreading disinformation, and producing fake pornographic videos without the consent of the person featured.

It is also used in the entertainment industry to “revive” long-dead actors and celebrities to reprise their roles.

Fernandes said social media had made companies better, including AirAsia, through transparency and solving people’s problems.

“As a CEO, I am able to interact with huge amounts of people. I get a tremendous number of ideas and feedback, and there is a lot of enjoyable content on various platforms.

“But they need to be responsible and stop monetising harmful content,” he added.

Huge amount of fake news in Southeast Asia

Fernandes said he closed his Facebook account many years ago following a shooting at a mosque in New Zealand that was shown live, which he felt was irresponsible.

“Despite many assurances, I still see a huge amount of fake news out there, especially prevalent in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia,” he said.

In 2019, a gunman who killed 49 people at two New Zealand mosques live-streamed the attacks on Facebook for 17 minutes using an app designed for extreme sports enthusiasts. - Mkini