Deepfakes and falsified evidence - Updates from the front lines

With a focus on the practical realities faced by practitioners, this discussion explores the increasing appearance of deepfakes and falsified digital evidence in legal disputes. The panel will draw on real-world examples and their professional experience to examine how manipulated digital content is already impacting investigations, litigation, and disputes in general.

The session begins with the digital forensic perspective, examining cases in which deepfakes, or falsified digital documents have been identified during investigations. This section will explore both how such material is created and some available methods used to detect and analyse it.

We then turn to the legal perspective, starting with the experience of disputes lawyers encountering suspected or proven falsified digital evidence in contentious matters. Highlighting the importance of awareness of such practices in disputes, and some considerations when dealing with suspicious content. This will be followed by discussion from a family law perspective, where digital communications and recordings play an increasingly central evidential role and the importance of identifying falsified content can have lifechanging implications for those involved.

Finally, the panel will conclude with an alternative viewpoint: “deepfakes for good” - Discussing legitimate and beneficial uses of avatar and synthetic media generating tools, highlighting both the opportunities and the ethical considerations associated with their adoption.