Matteo Renzi, Italy’s former prime minister and founder of the new Italia Viva party, sits in an opulent-looking office, face to the camera. An oil painting hangs to one side of him, on the other sits a Renaissance bust.
A technician ducks into shot to check his sound levels, and then Renzi is off. He starts by gurning at an off-screen audience member, greeting them in a hoarse stage whisper.
Then he turns on his fellow politicians. Giuseppe Conte, the current prime minister; Luigi Di Maio, his deputy; Carlo Calenda, a member of the European parliament — all receive the same obscene arm gesture, punctuated with a little sneer.
This performance sent some Italians straight to Twitter to voice their outrage at the ex-prime minister’s diatribe. But it was not the real Renzi talking. On closer examination, the voice is different, as are the gesticulations. Even the face looks uncannily smooth.
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Source: Can you believe your eyes? How deepfakes are coming for politics | Financial Times