India, Sept. 21 -- Deepfakes (aka synthetic media) can spread misinformation and disinformation very effectively. The 2020 US election is just one example, but the use of deepfakes isn't limited to politics. In fact, representatives from a big brand company recently asked Avivah Litan, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research, what they could do if deepfakes were used to undermine the reputation of the brand or CEO. Unfortunately, her reply was "nothing," because there's no way they can stop the social sharing of content.

"[T]he companies that have to solve this problem are the social media networks in terms of spreading deepfakes around the world," said Litan. "Even if there are solutions now, no one has the wherewit...