Queen Elizabeth II of England is the most popular royal and the most famous. To many, she is described as: admirable, hard working, respected, dignified and dedicated.
She is at this time, Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
Once every year on Christmas Day, the Queen would traditionally deliver her speech to be aired around the world. But this 2020, her speech was different.
Aired by a British broadcaster Channel 4, the British monarch said that she could say whatever she like "without anyone putting words in my mouth."
Among others, the Queen discusses Prince Harry and Meghan who moved to North America, saying that "there are few things more hurtful than someone telling you they prefer the company of Canadians."
In what seemingly distressing and sad speech, the Queen ended it with a dance on top of her table, underneath a disco ball.
The overall video, was all a set up.
It is Channel 4's alternative Christmas message, created as a parody to warn viewers to question "whether what we see and hear is always what it seems."
Her speech, the interior of the palace, and everything inside the video, were digitally-created by deepfake, the technology first introduced on Reddit.
Channel 4 said the video was created as a "stark warning about the advanced technology that is enabling the proliferation of misinformation and fake news in a digital age."
It should be noted though, that Channel 4 annually accompanies the Queen's traditional speech with alternative Christmas message.
But in 2020, Channel 4 hired VFX studio Framestore to create a fake Queen Elizabeth II, who spoke about some personal matters.
"Deepfake technology is the frightening new frontier in the battle between misinformation and truth," Channel 4 Director of Programmes Ian Katz said in a statement. "This year's Alternative Christmas Address -- seemingly delivered by one of the most familiar and trusted figures in the nation -- is a powerful reminder that we can no longer trust our own eyes."
Deepfake is a portmanteau of "deep learning" and "fake".
Using deepfake, images and videos of a person's face are synthetic altered using artificial intelligence, replacing them someone else's. While faking media isn't anything new and has been around for decades, deepfake technology simply automates the alterations.
With machine-learning, even people with the slightest knowledge or experience in video editing can create fakeries, as long as they have the right tools and data.
Initially gaining wide coverage after creating fake celebrity pornographic videos of Gal Gadot and some other celebrities, deepfakes then garnered widespread attention after it helped made numerous revenge porn, fake news, hoaxes, and financial fraud.
The technology has also been used to make high-profile individuals and politicians to say what they weren't supposed to say.
And in this 2020's Christmas, Channel 4 wanted to emphasize the danger of this technology.
As for the Queen's real Christmas message, she commended frontline workers for their efforts during the 'COVID-19' coronavirus pandemic, and offered condolences to families who were unable to celebrate together due to coronavirus-related restrictions.
Further reading: How To Easily And Quickly Spot Deepfake Whenever You See One
