President Biden's Alleged Deepfake Video Resurfaces; Netizens Still Insist Clip Used AI
President Joe Biden's rumored deepfake video from 2022 has resurfaced.
The POTUS has been a victim of deepfake, and one video, which many believe is not real, resurfaced after one netizen shared it on X, formerly Twitter. The user posted two clips of Biden blinking in one and not blinking in the other while delivering speeches.
"How does Joe Biden go from blinking one week to not blinking the next? And yes, these videos are real," Paul A. Szypula wrote on X.
The first clip was taken just four days ago when Biden spoke about a potential debate with former President Donald Trump. In the footage, he can be seen blinking unlike in the second clip. However, it's not true that the clips were taken a week apart because the second video was from 2022.
The post received several reactions, in particular the second clip, with many commenting that the video seemed unreal. For them, the footage where Biden wasn't blinking appeared to have been altered using artificial intelligence (AI). Some claimed the men in the clips were different, so it's edited.
This is just a screen shot, but I tried to stop it where the eyes are even. Those are not the same people. Too many differences. The ears, the indentations around the nose, the width of the forehead. 🧐and of course, the eyes! pic.twitter.com/nnrZXzMMiG
— Kristy4TRUMP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@Kristy4Trump24) May 19, 2024
"They used AI if [you] solely focus on the edge of the eyes like a box when he moves from side to side [you] will see the AI frame blur trying to keep up with him. It could be they're trying to keep us and the world from seeing how tired he is, or something's wrong with him, maybe pink eye. My family just got over it, lol," one commented.
"The one on the right is fake," another wrote with a woman facepalming emoji.
A third person opined, "Second one looks like it's using AI tech to keep his eyes wide open [face with tears of joy emoji] wtf is this [grinning face with sweat emoji]."
"No way that's him, the deep voice, eye shape and nose are different," a fourth person remarked.
"Dude, how did his eyes get so big?" another asked with a face with tears of joy emoji, referring to the second video.
The second clip was taken in 2022 when the POTUS spoke about the January 6 riots. While many doubted its legitimacy because Biden looked different in another video published on the same day, the BBC said the clip was not fake, and the differences in Biden's appearance were only due to the lighting used when it was filmed.
The outlet added that another concern was about Biden not blinking. However, the lack of blinking wasn't enough to prove the video was a deepfake because it's reportedly possible for one not to blink for an extended period.
A longer version of the video published by the White House showed Biden blinking several times. Sam Gregory, an expert on deepfakes, also said that even deepfakes can now make one blink.
"A lot of people think you can spot a deepfake because it doesn't blink, which is actually not correct. A badly made deepfake might not blink, but that is not a categorical sign that it's a deepfake," Gregory explained.
"There was research done three or four years ago which found that deepfakes didn't blink, but technology has since improved to enable deepfakes to blink."
Enstarz could not independently verify if the video of Biden not blinking is deepfake or not.
In October 2022, another video of Biden singing "Baby Shark" while visiting a community college in Irvine, California, made the rounds on TikTok and other social media platforms. However, the clip was found to use deepfake as the man behind the altered video admitted to using the technology to make the president appear as if he was singing the children's song, AP reported.
