ELI5: What is the difference between a deepfake and a cheapfake

A deepfake is a super convincing fake video made using computers, while a cheapfake is a simpler, less convincing fake, often made by just speeding up or slowing down a video.

Imagine you have Play-Doh.

• A deepfake is like using a special Play-Doh machine that perfectly molds a new face onto a Play-Doh figure, making it look incredibly real. It takes a lot of skill and special tools. It's so good, you might think the Play-Doh figure is the real person! For example, someone could use a deepfake to make it look like your teacher is singing a funny song that they never actually sang.

• A cheapfake, on the other hand, is like just squeezing and stretching the Play-Doh figure with your hands. It changes the figure, but it still looks a bit messy and obviously fake. It's easy to do, but not very convincing. For example, someone could speed up a video of your friend saying something to make it sound like they're talking really fast and saying something silly, even though they weren't.

• Deepfakes use fancy computer tricks to completely replace someone's face or voice, making it hard to tell it's fake. These are often used to create completely new scenarios or make someone appear to say something they never did.

• Cheapfakes are usually just simple edits, like changing the speed or context of a video, to twist what someone said or did. It's easier to spot because it doesn't involve creating something entirely new. They rely more on misleading editing than sophisticated technology.