Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Victor Davis Hanson: Beware—AI Is Putting Words Into My Mouth
Youtube ^ | 12/29/2025 | victor davis hanson

Posted on 01/02/2026 10:41:22 PM PST by L.A.Justice

Artificial intelligence is being used to steal voices, faces, and reputations. Victor Davis Hanson knows this firsthand.

Hanson explains the growing problem of AI-generated deepfake videos that falsely use his image, voice, and setting to promote ideas he has never expressed and often strongly disagrees with.

(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: ai; aislop; vdh; victordavishanson
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last
Victor Davis Hanson is not happy that some people are using AI to make Youtube videos using him...

I have seen some Youtube videos featuring Thomas Sowell as well...I have not actually watched them...Those videos are put out by people I have not heard of...

Some people on Youtube are using AI to deceive people...

I have seen many World War 2 videos on Youtube...I think that some of those videos are just nonsense...Like German female prisoners who ended up in America during World War 2...I do not think that ever happened...

1 posted on 01/02/2026 10:41:22 PM PST by L.A.Justice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

I really don’t know why AI systems cannot be programmed to refuse to do this kind of thing. There is no such thing as Constitutionally protected speech on the part of a robot.

So I really do think there needs to be thoughtful discussion about such limits, liabilities, and penalties. It certainly is a minefield to be set by control freaks, but we’ll get one anyway if it is not done.


2 posted on 01/02/2026 10:49:38 PM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Carry_Okie

What has been called deepfakes should be banned. 15 year minimum felony.

This shit is already ruining peoples lives. Wait until it is used to fabricate rape “evidence” or other crimes.


3 posted on 01/02/2026 10:52:37 PM PST by SPDSHDW (A sinner saved by Jesus)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

“I have seen some Youtube videos featuring Thomas Sowell as well.”

Yes, I believe that several such Sowell videos have even been cited on this very site over the past year or so. The voice is dead-on Sowell ... but likely trained on videos of interviews that TS mostly did 15-25 years ago. And that’s the tell, a 95-year-old Sowell talking about current or recent past events would sound closer to 95 than to 70. Of course, many listeners are not necessarily well-informed enough to realize that Sowell is now a very old man.


4 posted on 01/02/2026 11:08:09 PM PST by irishjuggler
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: irishjuggler

Before you put words in my mouth...

..be sure to let me know what I think.


5 posted on 01/02/2026 11:13:07 PM PST by CharlesOConnell (Kucy)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

I’ve seen a number of such vids from all sides of the political spectrum. Usually they can be spotted, but they are getting more and more sophisticated. IMO the various platforms need to use AI themselves to root out this crap.


6 posted on 01/02/2026 11:33:09 PM PST by Paul R. (Old Viking saying: "Never be more than 3 steps away from your weapon ... or a Uriah Heep song!" ;-))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

Those videos on you tube that pretend to be real life people saying all kinds of things should be illegal. And I am not talking humor. I am talking about the ones that seriously try to pass themselves off as the real deal. I seriously wish there was a law that could give the people making those videos a good long time in the federal pen. No one should have the right tarnish peoples reputations like that.


7 posted on 01/02/2026 11:34:03 PM PST by Revel
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

poor Victor.

can’t trust anything anymore except personal knowledge of truth and wisdom, which comes to us directly or indirectly from God.

no AI can deepfake God, because no human has seen God, and God can reveal very little of Himself to humanity, anyway. we see the universe God spoke into existence, and that dwarfs us to insignificance, but God did the whole thing—including us—in seven days. we creatures—all of us magnificent and complex as we are—are truly less than worms when compared to Him. to paraphrase the Bible, He was the always and will be the evermore. we have eternal life only because we are hidden in Him.

plus no AI can successfully add or subtract from the Word of God—’not one jot or title.’ therefore, an AI cannot ‘learn’ to be God. God’s Word cannot be modified, because it is absolute Truth, self defining, and any falsehood immediately calls itself out as such. even if an AI could fool a believer momentarily, it could never fool the Spirit within the believer.

believers just got to Trust in God alone.


8 posted on 01/02/2026 11:40:51 PM PST by dadfly
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice; 5th MEB; 6ppc; agondonter; Alberta's Child; AndyJackson; Aria; artichokegrower; ...
Ping! Out to the Victor Davis Hanson list

Artificial intelligence is being used to steal voices, faces, and reputations. Victor Davis Hanson knows this firsthand.
Hanson explains the growing problem of AI-generated deepfake videos that falsely use his image, voice, and setting to promote ideas he has never expressed and often strongly disagrees with. He breaks down this dishonest and unethical practice and why it’s harmful to public discourse on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words."
(0:00) Introduction
(0:16) The Rise of Deepfake Technology
(0:45) AI Hijacks Hanson
(1:29) Motivations Behind Deepfake Creators
(2:07) Impact
(5:56) Conclusion

We have all seen various videos that just seem ... off. Are we seeing the rise of lying liars?

FR Index of his articles: Victor Davis Hanson on FR

Town Hall: Victor Davis Hanson on Town Hall

American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson on American Greatness

His website: Victor Davis Hanson The Sword of Perseus

One of his sponsors' website: The Daily Signal

Please let me know if you want on or off this new VDH ping list.

As a reminder, Professor Hanson has asked that we do not post the full article of his writings. Thank you for following the link to finish his article.

Content created by the Center for American Greatness, Inc. is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a significant audience.

https://freerepublic.com/tag/victordavishanson/index

9 posted on 01/03/2026 12:20:29 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

This has caused me to start using RSS to filter out non-vetted YouTube channels.


10 posted on 01/03/2026 12:45:29 AM PST by The Duke (Not without incident)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice
I have seen many World War 2 videos on Youtube...I think that some of those videos are just nonsense...Like German female prisoners who ended up in America during World War 2...I do not think that ever happened...

Those videos are easily recognized by the A.I. imagery accompanying them, e.g., a video on the Battle of Midway with images of cloned Kidō Butai officers all wearing the same post-WWII uniforms, or a video on the Battle of Stalingrad with an image of Hitler leaning over and studying a battlefield map, while another Hitler is seated opposite him.

The historical mistakes are so bad it isn't even funny.

The A.I. narrator voices are also a dead give-away: The bizarre sentence cadence and false intonation are vomit-inducing.

Regards,

11 posted on 01/03/2026 12:48:28 AM PST by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Carry_Okie
I really don’t know why AI systems cannot be programmed to refuse to do this kind of thing.

"But the translation from a forbidden language [Sith] cannot be retrieved. That is short a complete redacted memory bypass."

"A complete what?"

"It's a terribly dangerous and sinful act performed on unwitting droids by dregs and criminals."

"Let's do that."

―C-3PO and Finn

Yeah - and at the same time, other restrictions would be put in place - say, against generating any content that casts a bad light upon Illegal Aliens.

Regards,

12 posted on 01/03/2026 12:54:30 AM PST by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

Same with Elon. There were daily instances of Elon on You Tube.


13 posted on 01/03/2026 1:02:58 AM PST by Cobra64 (ECommon sense isn’t common anymore. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

AI generated WWII “history” videos came to my attention late Summer or early Fall. I quickly learned to avoid anything released starting this year around the beginning of Summer, and moving forward to the present, if it wasn’t from a known-good content creator.


14 posted on 01/03/2026 1:17:57 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice
I’ve seen a number of these fake videos of not only Victor Davis Hanson, but also people like John MacArthur, Donald Trump, and probably most of all, Elon Musk. Elon was the first one I saw being impersonated like this, usually in fake SpaceX videos where his imposter is trying to sell fake cryptocurrency.

The one way that you can tell these fakes from the real thing (at least so far) is by listening to the cadence and emphasis of the speech. All of the fakes I’ve heard have had very monotone patterns, without the normal pauses and speed changes of the real speakers.

15 posted on 01/03/2026 1:48:03 AM PST by noiseman (The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Carry_Okie

“So I really do think there needs to be thoughtful discussion about such limits, liabilities, and penalties. It certainly is a minefield to be set by control freaks, but we’ll get one anyway if it is not done.”

Lofty goals in that statement, goals that if put into law will be flagrantly ignored by the left. In the near future we can expect fabricated video of conservatives doing dastardly deeds. As election day approaches I fully expect to see a video of J D Vance fornicating with a sheep on the WH lawn.

Remember, every time we think the left cannot lower the bar on civility ... they do.


16 posted on 01/03/2026 2:47:43 AM PST by ByteMercenary (Election 2020 was stolen by mail-in voting. Mail-in voting and RCV counting should be abolished.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice; All
I thought one of his videos looked VERY odd to me!

It was something about the way his eyes looked and the way his mouth moved

17 posted on 01/03/2026 5:20:49 AM PST by SMARTY (In politics, stupidity is not a handicap. Napoleon Bonaparte I)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cobra64; All

I sensed that too. I quit going to those videos


18 posted on 01/03/2026 5:21:28 AM PST by SMARTY (In politics, stupidity is not a handicap. Napoleon Bonaparte I)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: L.A.Justice

I have offten wondered how Youtube escapes lawsuits over this. And Youtube is quick to cancel people they don’t agree with politically and ideologically.


19 posted on 01/03/2026 5:27:00 AM PST by odawg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: alexander_busek
Yeah - and at the same time, other restrictions would be put in place - say, against generating any content that casts a bad light upon Illegal Aliens.

I expected that sort of lazy excuse for actually grappling with the point I raised. Producing fraudulent likenesses of people saying something they never did, without making clear that it is an AI, is depriving those people their right to express themselves as intended. How do we fix that?

20 posted on 01/03/2026 5:44:48 AM PST by Carry_Okie (The tree of liberty needs a rope.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson