Synthetic videos generated by artificial intelligence, widely known as deepfakes, are becoming increasingly prevalent on the internet. Recently, deepfakes have found their way into the world of online ministry, using the likeness of trusted faith leaders to prey on congregants for financial gain or spread false messages.
Deepfakes can be created for harmless entertainment or creative projects, but they can also be used to generate propaganda, spread misinformation and for fraudulent activities, such as impersonating someone for financial gain or committing identity theft.
Last year, a pastor in Fort Lauderdale took to the internet to warn about a deepfake that was shared with one of her Facebook followers. Believing the deepfake to be real, a man paid money to the scammer in exchange for what he thought was one-on-one spiritual counseling, she said. The pastor, Jennifer LeClaire, said the biggest tell in the deepfake video was the poor grammar and unusual inflection of her voice…