Venezuelan deepfakes and propaganda

Earlier this year videos made using artificial intelligence caused a stir in Venezuela. Many Venezuelans would have thought they were real news reports but a Spanish newspaper exposed them as deepfakes and linked them to a pro-government agenda. The journalist who exposed the fakes was immediately targeted and the Venezuelan government went into damage control, responding on Twitter with the hashtag #SomosInteligenciaSocial – 'We Are Social Intelligence', seemingly to drown out criticism. But what does the hashtag mean, and how does it fit into the country’s wider theme of quashing dissent? Carl Miller delves into the murky world of the Venezuelan state’s propaganda tactics online.

Presenter: Carl Miller - co-founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos and author of The Death of the Gods Producer: Reha Kansara and Rachelle Krygier Editor: Flora Carmichael