HN Reader

Anyone who works with video editing knows that when you cut a segment from a video recording, if the frame jump would distract the viewer or disrupt the content's flow, you apply morphing between those two frames. For this video too, everyone saying "the finger did this, the background did that" is actually spotting these morphings and mistaking them for AI anomalies.

18/19 seconds in, look at Trump's pinky finger disappear and become his ring finger.

The whole video has an AI vibe, but that moment seems like clear evidence. I've never seen a codec introduce that kind of artifact, but it's standard for AI. The background outside the window seems to jump at the same time as well.

My best guess is that this was done due to Trump being physically unable to manage a video... But if anyone has a better idea I'm open to hearing it.

It might also be cool if we can discuss whether or not this is something we're willing to tolerate from leaders. To me, it sounds like a monumentally bad idea straight out of low-budget sci fi.

Even when politicians pretend to be speaking the truth, there is little veracity to their statements and little follow-up or follow-through. So having an AI or deepfake video do that for them seems like a natural next step.

If none of it is real, does it matter how it was made? Witness the massive announcements which are revoked, then reinstated, then revoked again. We are in another post-truth era in history. Myanmar used to cut newspaper articles out with scissors to censor them before delivering papers to foreigners. All propaganda is just that.