Faked videos fuel false claims about Biden’s mental health

+ wildfires polluting water supplies, why vote-by-mail fraud is so hard US Edition - Today's top story: Faked videos shore up false beliefs about Biden's mental health [View in browser]( US Edition | 17 September 2020 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Deceptively edited videos have become a dangerous feature of today’s political landscape. Just about anyone with commercially available video editing tools can make public figures appear drunk or befuddled. The tactic is being used to reinforce the false notion that Democratic nominee Joe Biden is in cognitive decline. The manipulated videos might not shake the faith of many Biden supporters, but they could keep the falsehoods in circulation and force the Biden campaign to respond to the manufactured controversy. Can civil society stay ahead of these [“cheapfakes” and the more sophisticated “deepfakes” looming on the horizon?]( Michigan State communications scholar Dustin Carnahan writes that a shared sense of reality, already seriously eroded by social media-fueled political divisions, hangs in the balance. Also today: - [Expect younger poll workers this year]( - [Not all presidential lies are the same]( - [Teens need more guidance on pandemic-safe socializing]( Eric Smalley Science and Technology Editor Joe Biden faces a disinformation campaign promulgating the false notion that he is in cognitive decline. Gage Skidmore/Flickr [Faked videos shore up false beliefs about Biden’s mental health]( Dustin Carnahan, Michigan State University It's easy to edit video of public figures to make them appear asleep, confused, drunk or cognitively impaired when they are not. The technique is being used to undermine Joe Biden's campaign. 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