How do deepfakes work and can we always spot them?

Deepfakes use computer tricks to make fake videos look real, just like when you draw a picture that looks like your friend.

Imagine you have a robot painter who learns how your face moves when you talk. It watches lots of videos of you, and then it draws new videos where you say things you never said before. That's kind of what happens with deepfakes, the computer uses artificial intelligence, like a super-smart robot, to copy faces and voices.

Sometimes you can tell a deepfake is fake because it looks a little off, like when someone tries to draw a smile but forgets to add eyes. But other times, they look so real that even grown-ups get tricked! It’s like when your friend wears a disguise and pretends to be someone else, sometimes it's easy to fool you, and sometimes it takes a while to figure out the trick.

Deepfakes are getting better every day, just like how you get faster at drawing with practice. So we need to learn new tricks too! Deepfakes use computer tricks to make fake videos look real, just like when you draw a picture that looks like your friend.