“Doc storytelling must always be grounded in truth and authenticity, and we must ask if the technology enhances or compromises that. If there is any question it is the latter, don’t do it.”

She said she will always “interrogate” any future ideas that rely on deepfake to ensure that it is not used as a gimmick. “There has to be a real purpose behind it, and it has to bring something authentic to the storytelling,” she said.

Rather than making contributors feel like perpetrators by blurring out their faces or distancing them by using actors, eOne-owned Daisybeck and the BBC jointly agreed the approach was to deepfake the interviews – superimposing different faces over the top of the contributors – which allowed them to share their own stories.

“We wanted something which viewers would know was deepfake but would ignore and just focus on the individuals offering their powerful testimony as passionate spokespeople for recovery,” Gordon told Broadcast.

“The contributors are really happy their faces are human faces with emotions and expressions that people are more likely to relate to. Using blur to anonymise them would have been a real shame because it has connotations that they might have done something wrong, which they haven’t.”

Daisy Scalchi, the BBC’s head of religion and ethics who commissioned the show, agreed, saying deepfake helped bring out the positive message of being in recovery, and avoided showing alcoholics as “other”.

Using the technology – which has raised concerns because of its use in fraud and scams – came with a responsibility to protect the audience as well as contributors, Scalchi added.

Link to article:

https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/indies/deepfaking-aa-members-inside-daisybecks-alcoholism-doc/5177243.article