A video circulating in December 2019 appears to have been made with conventional video editing tools rather than neural networks, and appears fake.

Judged as of 2019-12-22. The claim refers to the specific video Srinivasan was discussing in December 2019. True if forensic analysis, fact-checks or the creator's own account show the video was fake or manipulated, and that it was made with conventional editing (cuts, splicing, speed changes, compositing) rather than AI or deepfake methods. Mostly true if it was fake and mostly conventionally edited, with minor AI-assisted elements. Mixed if it was fake but made largely with neural or deepfake methods, or if it was conventionally edited but only misleadingly framed rather than fake. Mostly false if it was only mildly edited and largely authentic. False if it was authentic and unedited. The claim is hedged ("appears"), so a reasonable inference consistent with the later evidence is enough for true.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Welcome to the age of uncertainty POLITICO Europe · 17 December 2019

   “The researchers found no evidence the clip of Bongo’s address was doctored, but they also couldn’t definitely rule out the possibility that it was.”

2. E2 Welcome to the age of uncertainty POLITICO Europe · 17 December 2019

   “Both videos were examples of so-called cheap fakes, created with basic video-editing tools. Quickly debunked, they nonetheless dominated the global news cycle for several days.”

3. E3 Welcome to the age of uncertainty POLITICO Europe · 17 December 2019

   “In May, a video of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, one of President Donald Trump’s most outspoken opponents, went viral. It had been slowed down to make the 79-year-old look drunk.”

None of the evidence identifies the video Srinivasan was discussing on 2019-12-22. E2 and E3 describe other viral videos from earlier in 2019, such as the slowed-down Pelosi clip, as cheap fakes made with basic editing tools. E1 covers the Bongo address, which researchers could neither confirm nor rule out as doctored. None of these can be tied to the video in the claim, so the evidence cannot show whether that video was fake or how it was made.