Deepfake photos are fast approaching the point where many can’t tell the difference between them and real images. It’s a lesson AI image generator Midjourney learned the hard way when some used its platform to create several recent images, including several fakes of former US President Donald Trump being arrested. After the images went viral, many thought they were real, sparking conversations and controversy based on completely fabricated information.
According to The Washington Post and reported on by The Verge, these deepfakes became so widespread, they prompted Midjourney to halt free trials on March 28. However, when TechRadar reached out to Midjourney CEO and founder David Holz for clarification, he insisted that there was a different reason for the halt: “Users signing up for multiple free trial accounts was bringing down the service for paid users so that's why we temporarily halted free trials.”
