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Rep. Hurd says US isn’t prepared to combat altered videos

May 26, 2019 GMT

FILE - In this May 23, 2019 file photo, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington. An altered video claiming to show Pelosi slurring her words during a Center for American Progress event in which she said President Donald Trump is obstructing justice is circulating widely across social media platforms. Associated Press journalists who analyzed the false video, and compared it to C-SPAN footage, said its speed had been slowed down by several seconds. AP journalists who monitored the event also said Pelosi appeared coherent throughout the Wednesday event, held in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman and former CIA officer says America isn’t prepared for disinformation campaigns that use altered video to spread false information across social media.

Texas Rep. Will Hurd’s comments come days after an altered video giving the false impression that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was slurring her words spread widely online.

Associated Press journalists did a side-by-side comparison of the false video to C-SPAN footage of Pelosi’s speech at a conference in Washington and concluded the altered video had been slowed down.

Hurd also raised concerns on CBS’s “Face the Nation” about “deepfake” videos that use artificial intelligence to create realistic-looking videos of real people saying things they’ve never said.

He says government leaders don’t fully understand how the technology could be used in the future.