cheapfake

English

Etymology

Compound of cheap +‎ fake, modelled after deepfake.

Noun

cheapfake (plural cheapfakes)

1. (neologism, technology) A fake or misleading piece of media (such as a video clip or image) created using conventional methods, as opposed to AI deep learning algorithms.
   • 2019 June 12, Joan Donovan, Britt Paris, “Beware the Cheapfakes”, in Slate‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-19:

     "Cheapfakes" rely on free software that allows manipulation through easy conventional editing techniques like speeding, slowing, and cutting, as well as nontechnical manipulations like restaging or recontextualizing existing footage that are already causing problems.

   • 2020 December 22, Nina Schick, “Don't underestimate the cheapfake”, in MIT Technology Review‎^[2], Cambridge, M.A.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-04:

     Now that global superpowers are openly sharing cheapfakes on social media, what's to stop them (or any other actor) from deploying more sophisticated visual disinformation as it emerges?

   • 2023 December 18, Vittoria Elliott, “Worried About Political Deepfakes? Beware the Spread of ’Cheapfakes’”, in Wired‎^[3], San Francisco, C.A.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-12-27:

     Aciman also noted that "cheapfakes" and other manipulated media may still be removed if it violates the platform's other policies around, say, misinformation or hate speech.

See also

• shallowfake