A Stanford specialist in misinformation, known for founding the university’s Social Media Lab, is facing allegations of fabricating sources in an affidavit supporting new legislation in Minnesota that targets ‘election misinformation.’ The specialist, Jeff Hancock, was hired as an expert witness for a fee of $600 per hour, but it has been reported that he cited academic works that do not actually exist.
The affidavit submitted by Hancock in support of the legislation banning the use of ‘deep fake’ technology to influence elections has come under scrutiny. Several of the academic sources cited in the document do not appear to be real, leading to suspicions that they may have been generated by artificial intelligence software like ChatGPT.
One example cited in the declaration is a study titled “The Influence of Deepfake Videos on Political Attitudes and Behavior,” supposedly published in the Journal of Information Technology & Politics in 2023. However, there is no record of such a study in the journal or in academic databases. This has raised questions about the validity of Hancock’s entire 12-page declaration.
Critics of the legislation have argued that AI-generated content, like the fake citations in Hancock’s affidavit, cannot be countered by fact-checks and education. However, this incident highlights the importance of relying on true speech rather than censorship to combat false information.
The controversy surrounding Hancock’s alleged use of fabricated sources has sparked debate about the reliability of expert testimony in legal proceedings, especially when it comes to complex technological issues like deep fake technology. It remains to be seen how this revelation will impact the ongoing legal challenge to the Minnesota law.