The dangers of live television appeared to be on full view in a viral clip showing a PornHub banner pop up on CNN’s Magic Wall behind anchor John King.
The clip appears to show King talking with Wolf Blitzer, and returning to his monitor only to find the banner which he swipes away and gives an off-camera look at whatever culprit was running the offstage. But did it really happen?
No, it seems that this is a fake.
First, take a look at the alleged video that has gone viral. There is no audio, and the alleged video appears to have been captured on a smartphone:
This video has already been shared broadly because it appears to resonate with a certain segment of Twitter users familiar with the feeling of unwanted and embarrassing pop-up ads or tabs revealing activities and interests best left private.
But as funny as this video appears to be, it’s fake. If one looks closely at the banner that King swipes away, it’s clear that it is floating above the screen, showing that it has been layered on top via post-production. Watch it again, and check the same clip zoomed in at three frames per second below, and it is abundantly clear that its been faked.
Here is the source material for the duplicitous edit above:
Oddly, I made a Twitter joke in February that seemed to foretell this deep fake video:
Live shots on cable news are often most interesting because anything can happen while the cameras are rolling. The rawest and sometimes most embarrassing moments are often caught for the world to see, which is why most television personalities and presenters are so buttoned up. Having to deal with deep faked videos does not make life easier for these people.
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