AAP FACTCHECK – Artificial intelligence experts agree that a video purporting to show a victim of an assault by US vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz is fake – but their conflicting assessments of how it was produced reflect sophistication increasing number of fake videos seeking to spread disinformation.

The video, which went viral on social networks on various platforms including X, Instagram And Facebookclaims to be Matthew Metro, a former student of a school where Tim Walz taught. A fake account on X called Matt Metro also released the video.

But the video does not feature the real Matthew Metro, nor the intelligence agencies. I believe this is part of a Russian disinformation plot.

One of many similar publishes complaints: “Matthew Metro has come forward and officially accused Tim Walz of sexually assaulting him while Walz was his teacher at Mankato West High School in 1997. This is disturbing.”

The four-minute video begins with a man claiming his name is Matthew Metro and that he is a “sexual assault survivor.”

He said he was a student at Mankato West High School in Minnesota (34 seconds), that Tim Walz was his teacher (1:11), and alleged that Mr. Walz groped and kissed him (starting at 2:51).

Tim Walz was a teacher at Mankato West High, as was widely reported.

But the man in the video is not Mr. Metro. The Washington Post I found the real Matthew Metrowho said he had attended the school but the man in the video was not him.

He told the newspaper that he never met Mr. Walzand that no assault of this type took place.

The real Mr Metro was also interviewed by Hawaii News Nowin which his voice is completely different from that of the fake video.

AAP Fact Check I contacted Mr. Metro but did not receive a timely response.

The fake video has many other red flags. The voice regularly seems out of sync with the mouth and speech often sounds unnatural.

AAP Fact Check asked two experts to evaluate the video for signs of AI.

Dr Andrew Lensenlecturer in artificial intelligence at Victoria University of Wellington, said he believed the video was likely deepfake AI.

However, he said it was difficult to be sure given the low resolution of the video – although he said this was often a tactic used to hide deepfakes, because a high quality lower makes them more difficult to spot.

“The most important sign for me is the teeth, where the upper and lower lines of the teeth often ‘merge’ in the frames before the ‘person’ closes their lips,” Dr. Lensen said.

“There are also a lot of pauses in the video, where the camera suddenly appears to zoom out or in from one frame to the next, especially between sentences/statements.

“While it is possible that the person in the story made the video from multiple edits, it seems unusual to split it in this way.

“Finally, the movements of the eyebrows, top of the eyebrow, and even the eyes while he speaks seem strange – the eyebrows are raised at times that do not correspond to the speech.”

Professor Hany Farid from UC Berkeley, an expert in digital forensics, disinformation and image analysis, assessed the video differently.

“Beyond the biometric inconsistencies, I am not convinced that this video is generated or manipulated by AI,” Professor Farid said. AAP Fact Check.

It analyzed three aspects of the video, using models trained to distinguish real human voices, faces and mouth movements from AI-generated or manipulated versions.

“The audio only shows minor evidence of being AI-generated, but not overwhelmingly so,” Professor Farid said.

“The face shows no evidence that it was generated by AI.

“And… I can’t find any evidence of a lip sync deepfake.”

He added that “there are none of the usual signs that this is a deepfake video in terms of inconsistencies between head movements and speech.”

“I think it’s more likely that it’s a cheap fake where someone is just pretending to be another person.”

Following the video’s widespread online distribution, U.S. intelligence agencies said Russians trying to disrupt the U.S. election created and amplified a “fake video” attempting to smear Mr. Walz with allegations of abuse, according to The Washington Post.

An official said Russian agents have sought to use videos in which people speak directly into a camera and make them go viral on social media.

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