4 deepfake examples that terrified and amused the internet

Fake your friends, family, and foes with deepfakes. The new technology allows you to mix and match facial features of two different people in a single video. It creates the illusion of a composite made up of the best parts of two or more individuals. Deepfakes, as they are known, recently became more mainstream when a Reddit user used the technology to morph Hillary Clinton and Monica Lewinsky into a single person to create celebrity porn deepfake videos.

Less controversial is an application by FaceMagic AI, which allows users to change the face in a video of their friends, family or even themselves with the face of a celebrity or famous person. The FaceMagic AI app is available to be downloaded on iOS and Android.

The brief history of deepfakes

Photography has been around for a long time, with the history of manipulation spanning centuries. In 1837 Joseph Nicephore Niepce took the first ever photograph with a camera obscura. Once invented, cameras went from being a novelty to an everyday tool for recording and documenting life in the 20th century.

Humanity has always been fascinated by other humans’ faces. This fascination has led to the creation of various facial recognition techniques that are collected into one category called computer vision. The early 2000s were fairly silent as computer vision moved deeper into the facial recognition world. Developments in this field made drastic improvements to things like motion tracking that make today’s deepfakes more convincing.

Fooling people is a dark art. In the past, it took something like a mask or a crude cut-out to fake an actor's likeness. Nowadays, computers have made it possible for anyone to create convincing celebrity looks with little more than facial recognition software and some basic skills in editing software.

Emma Watson Deepfake

There is a picture going around with Emma Watson on Kristen Stewart's body. I recently discovered it and thought it was hilarious.

If you've ever seen the face swap app on your phone, you might have had some fun with it once or twice before becoming bored of it and forgetting about it altogether. But there are people out there who find that the face swap app is basically their full-time job — they're called professional Face Swappers, and they absolutely love what they do.

Ariana Grande Deepfake

Ariana Grande is the voice of our generation, but Pete Davidson is the face.

Ariana Grande delivered an emotional speech at the MTV (Music Television) Video Music Awards on Sunday night. The 25-year-old singer/actress received the award for Artist of The Year, and in her speech she thanked her fans for their support in what has been a tough year for her following terror attacks in Manchester during her Dangerous Woman Tour and more recently, with the death of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller.

Someone created this FaceSwap video of Pete Davidson on Ariana Grande's body and it is quite creepy.

Elizabeth Olsen Deepfake

So what is it that makes Elizabeth Olsen one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood? Well, her stunning beauty, her timeless elegance, and her natural acting chops are certainly a few factors. However there is another piece to this puzzle that many may not know about: she has an amazing work ethic.

That's right; Olsen doesn't believe in resting on her laurels or taking anything too easy--in fact, she thinks it’s important to continually push herself and challenge herself with different roles.

Add this strong lead actress onto the body of the Mother of Dragons from Game of Thrones is quite the pair!

Margot Robbie deepfake

Which face was swapped? Do you think it was Jennifer Lawrence or Margot Robbie?

Deepfake News:

In the virtual world, there are secrets that keep on giving.

Margot Robbie has revealed her latest sensation: a deepfake—a modified video of her making a controversial comment about abortion. The actor announced on Twitter that she's suing T-Mobile for using the deepfake to promote its discount offers without her consent or royalties.

"I’m not okay with my image or words being used without my consent," the Suicide Squad actress said in a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter.