Sturgill, associate professor of journalism, spoke with WRAL News on the false, yet convincing nature deepfakes and altered images in political ads.
Associate Professor of Journalism Amanda Sturgill was featured in a recent WRAL News report on deceptive political tactics where North Carolina candidates have denounced attacks that “fabricate reality.”
Many candidates throughout the state feel that campaign tricks such as holograms and altered images have crossed the line. Sturgill, who wrote “Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News,” said when an ad features a caricature, “it becomes obvious that the creator took some liberties with the truth in order to editorialize—to make a point.”
Sturgill told WRAL state government reporter Paul Specht that the faked T-shirts are more nefarious. “With a doctored photo like these, it’s a lot less obvious and feels less like editorializing and more like deception.”
The full article can be found on the WRAL News website.