With risqué
jokes about Harry and Meghan, the Prime Minister and even Prince Andrew it's a
Christmas message that is likely to send many a Brussel sprout down the wrong
way.
And to add
insult to injury, Channel 4 has used advanced digital technology to give the
impression the Queen herself is delivering the broadcaster’s now traditional
‘alternative Christmas message’.
The
broadcast uses ‘deepfake’ technology to superimpose the voice of an actress
onto a manipulated film of the Queen appearing to address the nation.
The result
is an unsettlingly accurate impression of Her Majesty making jokes about Prince
Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leaving Britain, and the risk of
getting pregnant posed to NHS staff who treated Boris Johnson for coronavirus.
Channel 4 creates ‘deepfake’ Queen for alternative
Christmas message
Broadcaster claims stunt will highlight dangers of
misinformation
Adam
Forrest
@adamtomforrest
A
digitally-created “deepfake” version of the Queen will deliver Channel 4’s
alternative Christmas message and offer a stark warning about misinformation
and fake news.
The
artificially-rendered monarch will appear to share her thoughts on the
departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and the scandal surrounding Prince
Andrew and his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The fake
Queen, played by actress Debra Stephenson, will also be seen performing a
TikTok dance routine and revealing her penchant for “Netflix and Phil” with her
husband the Duke of Edinburgh.
The
broadcast will also appear to show the Queen telling viewers: “On the BBC, I
haven’t always been able speak plainly and from the heart. So, I am grateful to
Channel 4 for giving me the opportunity to say whatever I like, without anyone
putting words in my mouth.”
Deepfake
technology has become increasingly prevalent in recent years and can be used to
create completely manufactured video content of high-profile figures – most
notably of former US president Barack Obama.
The end of
the message will show the artificially-created images disappearing to reveal
the green screen used to manufacture images of Buckingham Palace and show it
was in fact Ms Stephenson playing the Queen.
The actress
said: “I have an intense fascination with deepfake technology. For years I have
studied people to impersonate them for TV, but now I can truly become them. As
an actress it is thrilling but it is also terrifying if you consider how this
could be used in other contexts.”
Many
royalists have expressed their outrage at the idea on social media, calling it
a “disrespectful” way to treat the Queen. “How dare they,” tweeted Brexit Party
leader Nigel Farage.
However,
the director of programmes at Channel 4, Ian Katz, claimed the this year’s
alternative message had been designed to act as a “powerful reminder” of
misinformation. “Deepfake technology is the frightening new frontier in the
battle between misinformation and truth,” he said.
“This
year’s alternative Christmas address – seemingly delivered by one of the most
familiar and trusted figures in the nation – is a powerful reminder that we can
no longer trust our own eyes.”
The deepfake
video, devised by special effects creatives at Framestore, was directed by
William Bartlett. “With Channel 4, we wanted to create a sequence that is
hopefully entertaining enough that it will be seen by a lot of people and
thereby spreads the very real message that images cannot always be trusted,”
said the director.
Channel 4’s
alternative Christmas message airs opposite the BBC’s broadcast of the Queen’s
official annual televised message to the nation. It has previously been
delivered by whistle-blower Edward Snowden, actor Danny Dyer and The Simpsons.
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