Tom Cruise deepfakes are popping up on TikTok and look bloody real

The idea of deepfake technology is one that understandably causes a bit of consternation. Obviously, people are pretty knowledgeable about identify theft and they reckon deepfakes could play a big role in that field within a few years. Of course, there are other worries, but when people see the technology working perfectly, they want to chat about it – and that’s exactly what’s happened with a new batch of Tom Cruise deepfakes that have gone viral…

You can see the videos down below, but to give you an idea of what’s got people talking, you can see some of the tweets and things placed up and down the page. Regardless of that, though, you might remember a little while ago when footage of Bill Hader becoming Tom Cruise went viral…

Here's the Belgian guy that made the @deeptomcruise TikTok videos. He says it was fiendishly hard to do it. By @SVR13 https://t.co/4F6B2EndNP

— malcolmmoore (@MalcolmMoore) March 5, 2021

That video showed how accurate the technology can be, but the latest bunch of Tom Cruise deepfake videos, shared on TikTok by their creator Chris Ume, are even more realistic.

This is not Tom Cruise

This is a deep fake

This probably isn't great news for Cameo pic.twitter.com/CqkzNOAFQp

— Damian Burns (@damianburns) February 26, 2021

Still, Ume reckons that although people are worried, they shouldn’t be. He stresses that the process takes months to finish and says, “You can’t do it by just pressing a button. That’s important, that’s a message I want to tell people. Each clip took weeks of work, and combining traditional CGI and VFX with deepfakes makes it better. I make sure you don’t see any of the glitches.”

Changes to the law will be necessary to safeguard everyone, writes @Mathilde_Pavis https://t.co/imxcqwKkia pic.twitter.com/XYhWoKNWJ9

— The Times (@thetimes) March 2, 2021

At the same time, some experts are pointing out that deepfakes could be used to spread misinformation, and in age as politicised as ours – particularly when certain people can command militants to do things like storm the Whitehouse – there is a concern there.

Still flawed, but at this point deepfakes are good enough to fool many people who are easily duped (lack of attention to the details). The mind helps. You pay attention to what is believable and ignore the rest. This deepfake using Bill Hader is amazing:https://t.co/YgSAiniM9i

— 🌐 Agent K ➖🕵️‍♂️ 🔎 👁️ 💬 📡 ⏱️ 🎯 ⚖️ ➖ 🌊 (@gary_kline) March 2, 2021

And then there’s the flipside of the equation: plenty of people are pointing out that it wouldn’t take much of a stretch for people caught doing the wrong thing to claim that deepfakes were to blame.

Especially with so much data, available by #facial recognition!

— notsramdamus (@notsramdamus) March 2, 2021

We’re not sure where we stand, but it’s comforting to know that at least for now, Ume’s videos took months to finish and he employed a top quality Tom Cruise impersonator to get the body language right. “He’s a really talented actor,” says Ume. “I just do the visual stuff.”

I am genuinely scared by this Tom Cruise deepfake. It‘s brilliant but it‘s terrifying. pic.twitter.com/tFVr9DmcBs

— Schayan Riaz (@schayan_r) February 28, 2021

Final thought: Yeah, nah, this is obviously one that’s gonna get you lot talking. So, load up the comments with your thoughts. Are deepfakes bad news or is there a place for them in society? Let us know!

Just in case you missed it, here’s one of Ozzy’s latest commentary videos…Ozzy Man Reviews: Goats

Video Link: DeepTomCruise

H/T: TIKTOK.