The possibility of an altered or synthetic photo influencing an election highlights a salient threat of imaging technology. After all, seeing is believing. Or is it?
Walter Scheirer, the Dennis O. Doughty Collegiate Professor of Engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Notre Dame and author of the book A History of Fake Things on the Internet, will explore this question at the Klau Institute’s Pizza, Pop and Politics.
The examples of altered or synthetic photos that history has preserved make it clear the observer is more often than not meant to understand that something has changed. Surprisingly, the objectives of photographic manipulation have remained largely the same since the camera first appeared in the 19th century. The old battle-worn techniques have simply evolved to keep pace with technological developments.
In this talk, we will learn about the history of photographic manipulation, from the invention of the camera to the present day. Importantly, we will consider the reception of photo editing and its relationship to the notion of reality, which is more significant than the technologies themselves. Surprisingly, we will discover that creative mythmaking has found a new medium to embed itself in. This, in turn, becomes a stumbling block in elections, where innocuous content can become confused with misinformation in politically volatile settings.
Pizza, Pop and Politics is an annual lecture series hosted by the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights in the Keough School of Global Affairs with support from the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative. The series brings together experts from across the University to discuss topics related to politics, elections, and civic participation from the standpoint of different academic disciplines.
Dinner is provided. All are welcome.