I have been noticing a lot of reels on Instagram where I see people saying incredulous things. I also notice their mouths do not match what is being said. The topic is very controversial and political, extreme and offensive. If you watch really close, the movements of their mouths do not line up with the audio. The clip is very quick, so, at first glance, it looks real. This is data manipulation at its finest. The end game of those who post these reels is to push certain political views, manipulate public opinion, and provoke emotional reactions. People seem to lean more on emotion than logic. When in an emotional state, they are more prone to share or repost instead of waiting and verifying.
What can we do to make sure we do not get caught up in the manipulation? I take a breather after seeing something that stirs up emotion. I watch it several times and check to see if the lips match up with the audio. I also look at the mouth closely as it is evident that it looks almost superimposed. I can also look for the original video source. If such things were truly said, it will exist on reputable news sites. Fact checking is so important so we do not feed into such data manipulation.
What have I learned? I learned that it is so easy to distort reality through digital media by rearranging audio and overlaying speech onto unrelated footage. We all need to take pause and fact check past the world of Instagram. Do not be misled by those attempting to provoke strong emotions instead of presenting the truth.