Fake AI-generated images showing Katy Perry and Rihanna supposedly attending the Met Gala have been widely circulated, demonstrating the continued prevalence of deepfakes fooling individuals online.
This proves that deepfakes can fool people, especially posts involving celebrities or political figures.
Although these celebrities did not attend this year’s Met Gala, AI-generated images depicting them on the event’s steps gained traction on social media platforms.
While some astute social media users were quick to identify discrepancies in the images, platforms like X’s Community Notes also pointed out that the images were likely produced using artificial intelligence.
However, some people were still misled by the convincing nature of the images, including Katy Perry’s own mother, who thought her daughter had made a real appearance at the Met Gala.
The buzz of AI in the “Garden of Time”?
On May 6, an AI-generated image depicting Katy Perry in a floral dress attracted considerable attention on X, garnering more than 15.5 million views and 314,000 likes.
However, careful observers noted discrepancies in the image, such as Perry’s missing arm and mismatched rug, indicating that it was likely not authentic.
Another AI-generated image of Perry in a different dress also went viral on the platform, garnering over 4.5 million views and 115,000 likes. Although Perry is correctly positioned on the mat in this image, abnormalities in her eyes and hand suggest her artificial origin.
Perry reposted both images on X and shared the first photo on Instagram with a caption suggesting she couldn’t attend the MET Gala due to work commitments.
Notably, the carpet in the images matched that of the 2018 event, not the green-tinted fabric adorned with live foliage used this year, which fits the gala’s “Garden of Time” theme.
Additionally, an AI-generated image of Rihanna at the Met Gala gained traction on X despite the singer’s absence due to illness.
AI-generated images of Lady Gaga, known for her extravagant fashion choices, have been circulating online. One image depicted Lady Gaga wearing a white dress adorned with flowers, evoking the grandeur of previous Met Gala appearances, and was therefore all the more believable.
Spotting a deepfake
Deepfakes, a type of artificial intelligence known as “deep learning,” use data sets to learn problem-solving skills. They can swap faces in videos and images to create realistic fake media.
These fakes often contain anomalies or discrepancies, such as mismatched accessories, distorted facial features, or unusual body parts like missing fingers or extra legs.
In many deepfake videos, individuals may exhibit particular blink patterns or unusual eye movements.
A study published by Cornell University used eye blink detection to identify abnormal blinks in deepfake faces.
As deepfake technology advances and becomes more convincing, scrutinizing their source is one of the most effective methods of detecting them. However, the widespread use of social media complicates this process, as anyone can share videos and images, making it more difficult to verify authenticity.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Srishti Gupta Srishti studied English literature at Delhi University and has since realized that it was not her cup of tea. She has been an editor in every space and content type imaginable, from children’s books to magazine articles. She enjoys popular culture, reading contemporary fiction and nonfiction, crafting, and spending time with her cats. With a keen interest in science, Srishti is particularly drawn to fields related to medicine, sustainability, genetic studies and all things biology.
