Elon Musk speaks Albanian, while Donald Trump presents himself as the “President of the Russian Federation” – such manipulative videos can now be made in less than two minutes.
Nowadays, artificial intelligence (AI) tools offer unlimited possibilities, and thus they can be used to replace the face of one person with another and alter or add an artificially generated voice that resembles that of real people.
A recent video from the Metamorphosis Foundation addresses the growing threat of fake content generated with the help of AI. This educational video explores the consequences of the spread of “deepfakes” and the motives behind them, informing about the techniques used for manipulation.
As these technologies continue to advance, they pose an increased risk to the truth and trust in the digital age. In the Western Balkan region, where political tensions are already high, these dangers are even more pronounced. AI tools are used to create fake content that deepens divisions, manipulates public opinion and destabilizes fragile societies, serving the interests of anti-democratic and authoritarian centers of power.
The educational video presents a series of examples from the region identified within the framework of the project “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Watchdog Journalism”, which with the support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation in cooperation with Faktoje (Albania), The International and Security Affairs Centre-ISAC Fund (Serbia), the Centre for Democratic Transition (Montenegro), Sbunker (Kosovo) and the Citizens’ Association “Why not” (Bosnia and Herzegovina).