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Marketing Must Fight Fakes

11/6/2022

6 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch - professor of marketing at Messiah University -
​author of 
Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing 

I recently received LinkedIn connection invitations from two different recruiters – It’s nice to be wanted; although, it’s nicer when the people pursuing you actually exist, which I’m certain wasn’t the case for either.  As rapidly advancing technology helps blur lines between fact and fiction, does marketing have any obligation to stand for truth?
 
Deception has been part of human history since the serpent misled Adam and Eve.  Over millennia, certain marketers have misguided consumers, whether they were ancient merchants using rigged weights and measures, snake oil salesmen pawning impotent elixirs, or auto dealers turning back odometers.
 
In recent years, the growth of social media and advances in digital technology have helped deception proliferate like never before, both in volume and sophistication.  Most of us are all too familiar with fake news, clickbait, and other forms of deceptive communication that cross our paths dozens of times a day.
 
The two LinkedIn invitations from imaginary people I mentioned above are cases in point; I’ve received many more, as others reading this piece probably have also.  Some telltale signs of the fakes are the model-worthy headshots, scarce background info, few existing contacts, and no recent posts.
 
These forgeries are fairly easy to spot, but others can be much more challenging.  Really good photoshopping can be completely undetectable.  Although someone occasionally sees and points out part of an image that was secretly altered, such as a celebrity’s unusual narrow waistline, these detected cases are only a fraction of those in which pictures are materially changed and which sometimes deceives others.
 
As a user of graphic design software since the mid-90s, I know these techniques firsthand.  One of my earliest photoshops involved our family’s promotional products business, which was based in a century-old Victorian house.  Unfortunately, a large telephone pole with wires projecting in four different directions made it impossible to get a clean picture of the building, so I used Photoshop’s clone stamp tool to make the pole and wires magically disappear.
 
While digital manipulations of static images have some potential to portray alternate realities, they pale in comparison to what deepfake video can do.  Driven by “deep learning,” a form of artificial intelligence (AI), and using face-swapping autoencoders, these extremely realistic videos can make their subjects seem to say and do things they’ve never done or said, which might be completely out of their character.
 
Most of us have seen lifelike deepfakes, which are easy to find on the web, but the most eerily realistic ones likely have been created by the Belgian company Metaphysic, whose viral videos employing American actor Miles Fisher to deepfake Tom Cruise were highlighted in an illuminating NBC Today segment about the technology.
 
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In the segment, NBC reporter Jacob Soboroff asks Fisher about the ethics of deepfake video and whether it could be a threat to democracy.  Fisher replies that the technology is “morally neutral,” adding, “as it develops, the positive output will so far outweigh the negative nefarious uses.”
 
Fisher’s response is reassuring, but how believable is it given that he does deepfakes to advance his career, and he has a business relationship with a firm that’s monetizing the trend?
 
As Business Insider has reported, others are also rightly questioning the potential repercussions of deepfakes:

“Many experts believe that, in the future, deepfakes will become far more sophisticated as technology further develops and might introduce more serious threats to the public, relating to election interference, political tension, and additional criminal activity.”
 
A recent New York Times article shared similar social and political concerns about deepfakes specific to their unsettling spread on TikTok.  Times reporter Tiffany Hsu also suggested another very important reason for pumping the brakes on deepfakes:
 
“But more than any single post, the danger of manipulated media lies in the way it risks further damaging the ability of many social media users to depend on concepts like truth and proof.”
 
It sounds cliché, but honesty is a foundation of every strong relationship and of every highly functioning society.  Productive interactions become impossible when people are unsure who’s lying and who’s telling the truth.
 
While it’s true that any individual can potentially get ahead by lying, no one gets ahead if everyone lies.  As purveyors of what might be the world’s most pervasive communication, marketers should understand the magnitude of their influence and be resolute guardians of truth, for their own livelihoods as well as for the preservation of society. 
 
Here are three ways marketing should fight falsity:
 
1.  Ensure no harm:  Not all digitally altered content is created equal.  Some is much more likely to significantly change people’s beliefs and actions, often in undesirable ways, while other tactics are more benign.  My analysis is biased, but I would put my telephone pole removal example in the harmless category.  It’s doubtful that anyone saw the building photo without the wires and developed a significantly different impression of the business.
 
2.  Reveal the truth:  If there’s a compelling reason to alter reality, let people know what’s been done.  In cases like the Tom Cruise deepfakes that are so good they fool most people, there should be clear disclaimers, e.g., “This is a deepfake.”  In other instances, the unrealistic or playful nature of the altered content is enough of a signal.  For instance, this past July I wrote an article titled “Cultures of Corruption” for which I photoshopped a winking/smiling Ben Franklin on the front of a $100 bill.  It’s doubtful that anyone believed the comical counterfeit.
 
3.  Avoid a deception arms race:  Unfortunately, marketing often involves one-upmanship, e.g., if one advertiser employs sexually provocative content that’s effective in attracting attention, other advertisers will insert even more explicit elements in their ads.  Meanwhile consumers’ thresholds of tolerance get pushed higher and higher.  There’s a real danger of the same kind of advance occurring with deepfakes unless firms follow the previous two prescriptions and refrain from pushing the envelope on realism past the point of easy recognition.
 
Fortunately, I’m still able to tell when a LinkedIn invitation is a fake.  Regrettably, I shouldn’t have to.  Organizations that resort to any form of deception in order to change people’s beliefs or cause them to take actions they wouldn’t otherwise choose are truly practicing “Single-Minded Marketing.” 
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6 Comments
Maddie
12/3/2022 02:45:51 pm

I agree with this article. I think the whole topic of photoshopping and fake profiles on all forms of social media and marketing is not good for lots of reasons. In the article harmful effects such as political tension, additional criminal activity, serious threats, and the concepts of truth and proof were mentioned- and these all are important and serious issues. I liked the quote that said "productive interactions become impossible when people are unsure who's lying and who's telling the truth", and that was followed up by saying "while its true that any individual can potentially get ahead by lying, no one gets ahead if everyone lies.". Both of these statements are very true, so it's important to keep the big picture in mind. I also think the three ways to marketing can fight against falsifying were good solutions, and I agree with labeling falsifying as "single-minded marketing".

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Chris Beatty
12/5/2022 08:27:07 pm

This article is very relevant to modern-day tech users, not just marketers. As someone who is part of a younger generation, I am very used to all the clickbait on YouTube, and fake Instagram+ Snapchat accounts. I have however gotten good at recognizing what is fake and what's real. All these fake accounts can be very dangerous. whether it's promoting fake news or trying to steal information, everyone needs to recognize what's real and fake for their safety. Lying hurts everyone, we need to understand that if this continues all consumers will be affected which is why we as consumers need to take a stand against these kinds of accounts.

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ava matty
12/6/2022 08:12:30 pm

this article makes many good points on why "marketing must fight fakes". in todays world, the idea of photoshopping, or altering an image, is seen as acceptable and normal. however I agree that it creates a false deception of what's true. it truly is key to be able to pick out online what's real, and what's fake. this can then save the person from any danger or harm. I also agree that this article is single minded marketing.

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Luke Ott
12/7/2022 08:36:23 pm

This article informed us of many instances of falsities that happen all the time in people's lives. Deep Fakes are becoming more dangerous in the media and it is crazy how the media lies.
This article gave great ways to fight falsity from the media. By ensuring no harm you are able to give others what they want to hear so trusts can be built. The issue with the media is that people so easily get fooled with fake news. People need to learn to be cautious about what they listen to for information. I believe that this topic is considered single minded.

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Noah Barrall
2/3/2023 08:27:53 pm

This article was very interesting to me, as I am constantly finding out new things about AI. I think from a marketing standpoint, this type of behavior from corporations can be very dangerous. They are 100% in it for the money and are monetizing something that can, and since this article has been written, has been used for many bad things that I have seen in the news. As this mentions, you can tell people what they want to hear, and they will believe it as long as you seem even the slightest bit trustworthy. The article also mentions clickbait, which is also becoming a prevalent thing on YouTube, Twitter, etc. What is not good about it is that once you click bait a few times, then people will start not watching you as much, or not even clicking on the video or tweet anymore. As you mention in the end of the article, we shouldn't have to think about what is fake and what is real no matter what website we are one, but sadly we do. Depending on if corporations or influencers do this right or wrong, it can be the difference in their careers.

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Josh Bratager
2/20/2023 08:12:50 pm

I found this article very interesting. Unlike you, I sometimes have trouble distinguishing between the fake and the real LinkedIn accounts. There have been times where I might have been excited to receive a message only to find out that it is AI and not a real person. I believe that this should be classified as mindless, as posing as someone that is real seems unethical to me. I also find the concept of deepfakes to be concerning and agree that there must be a disclaimer in order to prevent people panicking.

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