Facebook users in Canada and beyond are being exposed to a disturbing new wave of disinformation: highly realistic, AI-generated videos portraying extreme and fabricated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in public places like Walmart and McDonald's.
The Viral Deepfakes and Their Telltale Signs
According to a report from 404 Media, numerous deepfake clips are going viral on the Meta-owned platform. This surge coincides with Facebook's decision to relax its content moderation rules on political topics like immigration after the 2024 election. One particularly viral clip, which has amassed 4.1 million views, 16,700 likes, and 2,200 shares, shows Latino Walmart workers being lined up and put into a van with "IMMIGRATION AND CERS" misspelled on the back.
An agent with a misspelled "POICE" badge orders an employee to step up, but the man then performs a strange, unnatural sideways walk back into the line. Other videos from the same account, "USA Journey 897," show similar fabricated raids targeting McDonald's employees and food delivery workers.
Why People Are Falling for the Fakes
Despite clear AI artifacts like unnatural gaits and spelling errors, many users are convinced the videos are real. Comments on the clips range from applause for ICE to expressions of horror. The emotional manipulation is by design, explains Sherry Pagoto, a psychologist and director of the UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media.
"Once our emotions take over, whether it be fear or rage, our ability to scrutinize the veracity of the content is weakened," Pagoto said. "This is why misinformation is often designed to elicit strong emotion." This tactic is financially motivated, as clicks translate directly into revenue for the creators.
A Grave Threat to Political Discourse and Elections
Experts warn that the implications for democratic processes, including those in Canada, are severe. Cayce Myers, a professor at Virginia Tech School of Communication, notes that AI provides an inexpensive way to create potent political content. "Even when these videos are obviously fake, they still fuel a larger political narrative," Myers said.
The problem is already escalating. Just last week, racist AI-generated videos about Black SNAP recipients went viral. Furthermore, political campaigns are now employing the technology, as seen when Senate Republicans used an AI-generated video to misrepresent Senator Chuck Schumer.
Jen Golbeck, a professor at the University of Maryland, highlights the danger for voters whose existing biases are confirmed by such content. She pointed to the fabricated 2024 claim pushed by Vice President JD Vance that immigrants in Ohio were eating pets. "The immigrant cat story was fact-checked and disproven, but it stuck," Golbeck said. "AI-generated videos will make it easier to create clips that hit that vibe. I think we are in a timeline where the importance of truth in elections has already been lost."
