None of the 2020 presidential campaigns contacted by Axios had a plan in place to counter deepfakes, according to the outlet, even as the technology to create believable computer-generated media depicting real people saying or doing things that never occurred was already widely accessible.
Axios contacted all current presidential hopefuls. Only nine Democrats and the Trump campaign responded, and none described a deepfake contingency plan. Most argued the responsibility should fall to someone else — the Democratic National Committee, the FBI, or the media.
The survey followed a viral episode that illustrated the risk: a video of Nancy Pelosi, altered to make her appear drunk, spread on Facebook. Anonymous experts who met with various presidential campaigns told Axios the candidates still did not seem to be taking the problem seriously.
"Campaigns have to have a strategy in place for dealing with this," UC Berkeley forensics expert Hany Farid told Axios.
The findings contrast with how major governments were treating the threat. The United States was heavily invested in countering deepfakes, and China was considering an outright ban, according to the report. Experts had warned for years that the technology could undermine public trust in the media.
Axios reported the campaigns' lack of preparation as America moved toward its 2020 presidential election. The outlet's account left open which specific campaigns responded, what the nine Democratic campaigns said individually, and whether any planned to develop safeguards later.
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