Moderate
Fake
The more synthetic media is perceived to be legitimate and authoritative, the content is more likely to be trusted, persuasive, and acted upon.
Synthetic media can range from non-interactive, not ongoing, or not consistent (low) to interactive, ongoing, and consistent (high).
Synthetic media can range from very recognizable and familiar (high) or hardly (or not) recognizable and familiar (low).
Synthetic media can range from evoking a significant affective response (high) to barely or not at all eliciting an affective reaction.
Synthetic media can range from broadcast to a wide human audience or technical security measures (high) to a narrow, specific human audience or tailored technical security measure (low).
The spread of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and affect through social aggregates from one member to another
Deepfake technology intentionally using the likeness of famous and/or credible authorities in an effort to shape the behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and/or emotions of the target audience
The media is intended to serve as a catalyst for political argument, discord and divisiveness.
The imagery of Trump praying prior to his impending arrest is one that avails upon emotions, pre-existing beliefs and reinforced reverence from Trump supporters.
The tendency to seek information that confirms or supports a predetermined position or conclusion.
Information that is more readily available in memory is judged as more likely or more representative. Can be influenced by recency or emotional virulence of the memories.
Tendency to do favors for people whom we like. Can be exploited by establishing rapport with target before asking for action.
Tendency to comply with authority figures (usually legal or expert authorities). Exploitable by assuming the persona or impersonating an authority figure.
Technique that attempts to implant a false memory in the target through suggestion.
Affective responses--emotions, moods and feelings--effect cognition and perception. Media that intentionally causes a high degree of emotional load can significantly image how target audience member perceives and thinks about the subject of the media.
Both humans and automation may be targeted by synthetic media attacks. This criteria references whether the target of the attack was human or automation. The highlighted icon represents the intended target of this submitted media.
Human
Technical
Hybrid
Unknown
A measure of if the attack was constructed by a human or by artificial intelligence. The highlighted icon represents the method of control of this submitted media.
Human
Automation
Hybrid
Unknown
The medium is the format of the content submitted. Highlighted items represent all of the various formats contained in the submitted content.
Text
Image
Video
Audio
Technical complexity of the atttack.
How damaging the attack was intended to be.
This image is meant to cause Trump supporters to be emotionally stirred by the poignant image of Trump piously praying prior to his impending arrest. Historically there has been no deep historical evidence of Trump's religiosity, but in the wake of his historic arrest, imagery such as this--particularly when re-posted by Trump himself--is meant to invigorate support from his loyal base of supporters.
Create group, organization or societal division
Offering information that affects the target audience legally, morally, ideologically or in other areas
Intentional strategy and tactics meant to mislead, misdirect and manipulate the perceptions of a target audience through simulation (showing the false) and/or dissimulation (hiding the real)
Use of deepfake and synthetic media to promote a particular political, scientific, social or other cause
The creator and/or disseminator of the media seeks to create political discord, argumentation and divisiveness.
Motivation is the underlying activator, purpose or sustained reasons for why the deepfake threat actor wants to create nefarious synthetic media.
The image was created to place Trump in the light of a righteous, pious former President looking for comfort and strength from God prior to his impended arrest.
Targeting is the threat actor’s intentional selection of a target audience, or the group or individual whom he is interested in impacting with his deepfake campaign.
As the image was posted on Truth Social, a social media company founded and owned by President Trump, the target audience is more than likely fellow Trump supporters
Research & Reconnaissance occurs when the threat actor is effortfully gathering information about the target audience, the optimal channels to conduct their campaign on, the relevant narratives for the attack, and type of content that will have the desired impact on the target audience.
No case specific insights generated.
Preparation & Planning are the steps and processes that the threat actor takes to acquire the tools and content needed to create the deepfake media for their campaign and their deliberation for the execution of the campaign.
No case specific insights generated.
Production is the threat actor’s use of tools and content for the creation and development of deepfake media for their attack campaign.
No case specific insights generated.
Narrative Testing. A narrative is a story, or an account of related events or experiences. A good narrative will have story coherence, such that both the story being told and its relationship to the real world are cohesive and clear. In deepfake campaigns, threat actors consider and evaluate the possible narratives—particularly in relation to events and context—to support the campaign in an effort to maximize the believability and efficacy of the attack.
The image is meant to shape and reinforce a story-line of President Trump being persecuted by "the system," yet strongly facing adversity through his faith.
Deployment is the threat actor’s intentional transmission of deepfake content to the target audience through selected online channels.
Originally posted on Truth Social and re-posted by President Trump himself is a powerful way to reach the target audience of Trump supporters.
Amplification is the threat actor’s intentional efforts to maximize the visibility, virality and target audience exposure to their deepfake content.
No case specific insights generated.
Post-Campaign is the period after the target audience has received and been exposed to the deepfake content.
No case specific insights generated.
When assessing emotionally evocative imagery it is helpful to take the following steps to objectively assess the imagery and the story the image is intended to convey: 1) Does the context of the image make sense? 2) Does the image seem to a improvised and "candid" or a staged, planned image? 3) Consider the perspective of the purported photographer taking the photo and the context surrounding taking the photo? In this instance, would there be a photographer at the ready to take a picture of a spontaneously kneeling and praying President Trump? If so--and if authentic-- would it be normal and appropriate to take a picture of him solemnly praying--or would that more than likely be a "photo opportunity?" 4) Is there any history of Trump behaving in this way? When contextualizing the image in this way, more questions are raised than answers making the veracity of the image very suspect.
Notes:
Image generated by MidJourney