Scams, fraud and harassment are on the increase, as so called "deepfakes" grow in popularity and sophistication.
A deepfake is when an existing image or video is altered using artifical intelligence (AI) technology.
One example is the image of Pope Francis in a white puffer jacket. It was a deepfake but a very good one, and the technology is getting better by the day, in particular when it comes to video and audio.
There are both innocent and harmful reasons why people make deepfakes.
"People might use it for entertainment, for creativity, or just to create low cost material," said Dr Eileen Culloty, of the DCU School of Communications.
"But the flip side is manipulation, scams and fraud but also bullying and harassment, and in particular sexual harassment using deepfakes," she added.
Deepfakes have also been used for political interference. In 2022, a deepfake video was circulated showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, falsely showing him surrendering.
Real images from RTÉ News have been used in scam videos and posted on social media platforms and gaming apps.
The voices of presenters have been altered and fake video interviews edited into a news report, to make it appear as though the news programme is endorsing what is essentially a scam.
As the technology improves, the fakes are becoming harder to spot and, as it stands, there are few laws in this area, although they are promised.
Barry Scannell, a specialist in AI and technology law, said legally, those who have their image or voice manipulated are up against it to find a law that protects them.
"Without any laws on deepfakes, the victims of deepfake technology are having to be as creative, if not more creative, than the perpetrators using this technology," he said.
'Personality right' protection
There are protections in law if a brand name is used without agreement, a legal concept known as 'passing off'. Other images, of a person, are not protected in the same way.
"Ireland doesn't have what's called a 'personality right', like they have in the United States. Where you actually have a right to your image, we don't have that," he added.
The AI Advisory Council, of which Mr Scannell is a member of, recommended such a change to Government.
The AI Act has provisions on deepfakes but that's not coming into force until August next year.
"The AI Act only says that you need to mark it as a deepfake, provided that it isn't obvious," Mr Scannell said.
"The problem is that deepfakes are now so sophisticated that what's obviously a deepfake isn't clear," he added.
The online platforms have ways to report deepfakes, but frequently those reporting them are told they do not breach the platform's guidelines.
RTÉ News shared one video, which has been on Facebook for over a year, with Meta.
The social media company replied in a statement to say: "We are constantly developing new ways to make it harder for scammers to deceive others - including using facial recognition technology...we have removed and disabled the video that was shared with us."
With more and more people accessing news and information online, the ability to think to ask questions and double check a source will become the most valuable tool in deciphering what is real and what is not.
Mr Scannell said: "There isn't any silver bullet.
"One of the things we should very much consider, and that I would strongly favour, would be teaching critical thinking in schools."
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