A New Reality: Deepfake Technology and the World Around Us

You are bickering with your significant other during the height of an argument as your partner begins to hurl corrosive, malicious, and fraudulent accusations your way. You seemingly become more and more confused as your significant other asserts you have done the unthinkable: cheated. As thoughts and concerns swirl around your baffled mind, you offer yourself some comfort as you know it is not true, and hopefully a thorough explanation can clear the air. As you begin defending your chastity, your significant other pulls out their cell phone and shows you something you cannot fathom. There, right there, in physical, audio, and video form, on the six-inch screen of their phone, a video plays of you engaging in salacious acts with another person who is clearly not your significant other. The video is crisp, clear, and undoubtedly looks, acts, and talks like you. But is it me?

You then realize that the confidence you held minutes ago in your own candor is useless. Somehow, someway, there is video proof of you committing an act you are positive you did not do. Was I drugged? Did I blackout and not remember my actions? Your brain is trying to comprehend and protect itself from the trauma and deceit presented to it, but you realize that this video—this horrifying, false, and life-changing video is real, at least to the beholder. You know that the video bears a resemblance to your likeness, but you also know it is not real.

Nevertheless, the video is real, and that is all your significant other needs to know. The damage is done, and now it appears there is irrefutable proof you have committed the abominable act of adultery that you know you did not do. You begin to question your own reality and the world around you. If this false video exists but appears to be genuine in every way, what else in our world is simply a distortion of the truth? What other forms of false media dwell in the world that will swindle and deceive even the most intelligent minds?

This Article explains deepfake technology and reviews deepfakes in modern society.3 Next, this Article discusses the evidentiary implications of deepfakes and how they are analyzed and authenticated within the courtroom.4 Finally, this Article discusses potential methods of combatting deepfakes, their effect on the courtroom, and prospective avenues of redress for deepfake victims.

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Anatomical Diagrams and Dolls: Guidelines for Their Usage in Forensic Interviews and Courts of Law

A guest speaker at school discusses personal safety and the sensitive subject of child maltreatment, informing the group of second-graders that some secrets do not need to be kept. Impacted by the lesson, a student approaches his instructor and asks, “if my friend told me a really bad secret, should I tell?” After a handful of follow-up questions, the child shares that his best friend, Billy, told him that Billy’s father was touching his butt with his “private part.”

Having a reasonable suspicion that Billy is being sexually abused, the teacher makes a mandated report to social services. The case is screened in, and Billy is brought to a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC)—one of hundreds of facilities accredited by the National Children’s Alliance to assess child maltreatment allegations.

Billy is questioned by a forensic interviewer, someone specially trained to speak with children about abuse, and the interview is audio and videorecorded. The interviewer spends time building rapport with Billy and practices getting the child to speak in a narrative style6 by asking for details about a neutral event from beginning to end. The interviewer also asks the child about family, people the child lives with, and things they may do with the family and other people in their lives.

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Not an Ocean Away, Only a Moment Away: A Prosecutor’s Primer for Obtaining Remotely Stored Data

Digital evidence exists in almost every criminal case and provides unparalleled corroborative utility, particularly for crimes often committed in secret, such as child exploitation. This evidence is increasingly stored remotely on servers across state lines, around the globe, and beyond. It is therefore critical for prosecutors and law enforcement to develop an understanding of the pertinent domestic and international legal considerations for obtaining remotely stored data.

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The Forensic Interviewer at Trial: Guidelines for the Admission and Scope of Expert Testimony Concerning a Forensic Interview in a Case of Child Abuse (Revised and Expanded)

The field of forensic interviewing is approaching five decades and is an integral part of a multidisciplinary response to a report of child maltreatment. The concept of a “forensic interview” was necessitated by high-profile child sexual abuse cases from the 1980s. In these cases, children were interviewed by professionals with little or no training in the art and science of eliciting information from children. In some cases, children were interviewed on multiple occasions by several persons. In an attempt to improve the response to these cases, Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC) began to emerge and spread across the country.

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