![\"News](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/wmur-investgiates-677fd731475a1.jpg\"\/ "\\"News")
<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tArtificial intelligence is changing what we can trust, blurring the line between real and fake. After a high-profile deepfake made headlines in New Hampshire, experts warn that the technology is moving faster than the laws meant to control it.The response is now underway, as communities and lawmakers try to keep up with a threat that is evolving in real time.The deepfake robocall sounding just like President Joe Biden that hit phones of registered voters in the Granite State just hours before the 2024 presidential primary is still one of the most widely discussed deepfake incidents.And it’s not just politics. In Goffstown last year, a deepfake involving students shows the real-life impact of how damaging it can be. In response, new policies are being implemented, including a new state law.”It’s a year old, and in broad strokes, it’s a criminal defamation statute that makes the use of AI, particularly to create a deepfake, illegal and subject to criminal prosecution if it is used for the purpose of causing reputational harm,” said Brian Bouchard, attorney at Sheehan Phinney.So far, only one person has been charged under the new law: a Gilford man who allegedly created a deepfake video by altering what a Laconia police officer said in a police body camera video. He has pleaded not guilty.”The way it can help a victim is you can, for the first time, have local police authorities at your disposal if you have been the victim of identity fraud through an AI deepfake, which didn’t exist before,” Bouchard said. So what is a deepfake? It’s AI creating a fake version of a real person, making it seem like they said or did something they never did. >> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go <<“The ease with which you can make these things has just absolutely gotten obliterated. Anybody can now create fakes,” said Hany Farid, a digital forensics researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.Farid is an internationally known, leading expert on deepfakes.”This technology is being weaponized and we have got to start to get a handle on it as an electorate. Otherwise, our very democracy is at stake,” Farid said.News 9 Investigates spent time with Farid as he returned to Dartmouth College, where he once taught and was focused on artificial intelligence long before it entered the mainstream.”We’re starting to see deepfakes in real time on Zoom calls, on Teams calls, on Webex calls, where you’re on a call with somebody, and it’s not a human or it\u2019s not who you think it is,” Farid said.Farid explains that the technology itself is evolving faster than most people realize, creating skepticism and eroding trust, as people constantly question what’s real and what’s fake.”The average person today cannot look at a piece of content and know whether it’s real or not. That \u2026 it’s over. The six fingers is over,” Farid said. “Whatever things that you thought were present in AI-generated content, it’s over.”Inside Dartmouth’s Baker Library, Farid showed News 9 Investigates the Epic of American Civilization mural by Jos\u00e9 Clemente Orozcol, a place that, even today, remains one of his favorite spots on campus. It tells a story of human progress, power and consequence. The irony of the piece is hard to miss: a century-old warning that now echoes in Farid’s words.”There’s no putting this genie back in the bottle. This is our new reality. And we’re going to have to start thinking about how to put some guardrails on this technology before it ends up taking us somewhere we don’t want to,” Farid said.Farid recommends people stick to trusted sources, verify where possible, and even go analog and use a password with family and friends.”Let’s do better and let’s figure out how to harness the power of this technology without having it burn the place to the ground along the way,” Farid said.Until stronger safeguards are in place, that next call could fool you. Don’t assume what you hear or see is real.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tMANCHESTER, N.H. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence is changing what we can trust, blurring the line between real and fake. <\/p>\n
After a high-profile deepfake made headlines in New Hampshire, experts warn that the technology is moving faster than the laws meant to control it.<\/p>\n
The response is now underway, as communities and lawmakers try to keep up with a threat that is evolving in real time.<\/p>\n
\t\t<\/p>\n
The deepfake robocall sounding just like President Joe Biden that hit phones of registered voters in the Granite State just hours before the 2024 presidential primary is still one of the most widely discussed deepfake incidents.<\/p>\n
And it’s not just politics. In Goffstown last year<\/a>, a deepfake involving students shows the real-life impact of how damaging it can be. In response, new policies are being implemented, including a new state law.<\/p>\n “It’s a year old, and in broad strokes, it’s a criminal defamation statute that makes the use of AI, particularly to create a deepfake, illegal and subject to criminal prosecution if it is used for the purpose of causing reputational harm,” said Brian Bouchard, attorney at Sheehan Phinney.<\/p>\n