CLAIM: Richard Stone, the Political Analysts (sic) shared his views on the policies spearheaded by the Second Republic for the past 5 years. Give credit where it is due.
SOURCE: Twitter
VERDICT: Misleading
A ‘political analyst’ breaks down the successes of President Mnangagwa’s last six years in office in a video on TikTok. He introduces himself as Richard Stone and professes his initial skepticism on the administration’s successes and how he has now been converted. He looks quite solid. Male, white and smartly dressed – maybe someone you could trust to give you an honest analysis of the situation to help you make an informed decision.
If you search for him on Twitter, you might even find a few exact same names.
He says, “As a political analyst, my role involves questioning, scrutinising and forming evidence backed conclusions’.
He lists the achievements of the administration:
- The Gwayi-Shangani Dam;
- The Beitbridge border post;
- Agricultural output
- RGM Airport upgrade; and,
- Kazungula border bridge upgrades.
A ghost account with the username @SimbaMakoni23817 tweeted that, ‘This is a neutral and very factual analysis by Mr Richard Stone of what the President Cde ED Mnangagwa and his Government has done for the good of Zimbabwe.
#EDWORKS’.
So, what’s wrong with this picture?
Richard Stone is not who he says he is or who he appears to be. He is a what. An AI generated face. .
Videos and images that seem lifelike enough can rapidly spread misinformation.
As one user on Twitter says, ‘AI disinformation has become a worldwide challenge, especially in an election period. As AI disinformation continues, blurring the lines between fact and fiction, it is going to be increasingly difficult to tell the difference between accurate information and AI disinformation.’
How to spot AI generated person
Amid all-time high levels of misinformation circulating on social media, AI is making fake news harder to fact-check than ever before. Whereas seeing was believed, now the lines have been blurred. Here are a few tips to spot A1 generated faces:
Asymmetrical facial features
Zoom in in and look carefully
Mr ‘Richard Stone’
Many images generated by AI look real at first glance.
The first tip is to look closely at the picture. To do this, search for the image in the highest-possible resolution and then zoom in on the details.
Enlarging the picture will reveal inconsistencies and errors that may have gone undetected at first glance.
And even if the images look deceptively genuine, it’s worth paying attention to unnatural shapes in ears, eyes or hair, as well as deformations in glasses or earrings, as the generator often makes mistakes.
Use AI image detectors
While not always accurate, AI image detectors can serve as useful tools to spot fakes when paired with the other methods mentioned in this list. Maybe’s AI Art Detector is a great place to get started.
Conclusion
The video and the claim are both misleading as they give the impression that ‘Mr Richard Stone’ is a real political analyst who is giving an honest opinion, which is deceiving. Since ‘Mr Richard Stone’ can not think for himself, it means that he is reading from someone else’s script.
