It’s the cheap fakes’ turn to shake the election

Is it too much for the voters to hope for a presidential debate focusing on candidates’ qualities, leadership, policy and vision?

KIM HYOUNG-GUThe author is the Washington bureau chief of the JoongAng Ilbo. The attacks by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s camp and conservatives to provoke concerns about 82-year-old President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline are crossing the line.

While some may say winning an election matters by any means, malicious fabrications blurring the line between truth and lies cover the eyes and ears of voters.

The conservative-leaning New York Post published a photo of President Biden leaving the June 13 G7 summit in Italy on a cover with the headline, “Meander In Chief.” A vertical video that appears to be taken with a smartphone was also posted on the internet. The video spread quickly and former President Trump’s camp aggressively used it to attack Biden.

NBC fact-checked the viral video and discovered what it hid. The footage released by NBC with a wider angle shows President Biden walking away to greet a group of parachutists, who just landed, and giving them thumbs up.

The Republican National Committee posted a 12-second video of Biden trying to sit on a chair that was not visible at a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings on June 6. Biden was mocked for attempting to sit on an invisible chair. But the Associated Press fact-checked the video and found it was a lie — from a wider angle, Biden looks at the chair in the back, then sits.

American media calls these videos “cheap fakes” made with inexpensive editing tools to distort the truth, unlike deepfakes which are made using AI. It is concerning that cheap fakes are making the November presidential election even more chaotic.

The White House also criticized such videos for being malicious. Excessive attacks deserve criticism, but it is worth thinking whether Biden’s lack of communication encouraged the risk about his old age. Trump had discord with mainstream media throughout his term, but visited the liberal New York Times (NYT) for an interview. But Biden has been avoiding interviews with the NYT. As it turned out, he turned down interviews about the Super Bowl this year after also rejecting them last year, even though they are considered the best PR opportunities for the president.

The first television debate for the U.S. presidential candidates will be held on June 27. CNN’s rules to prevent over-the-top disruptions are in place, including strictly limiting the time to speak. Is it too much for the voters to hope for a presidential debate focusing on candidates’ qualities, leadership, policy and vision?