On July 20, MIT Virtuality launches "In Event of Moon Disaster"

New project rewrites the history of the 1969 moon landing to educate the public on the dangers of deepfakes

In an era when misinformation is a growing epidemic and the technology to produce deepfakes (manipulated audio and video content) becomes more easily available, distinguishing fact from fiction will only get more challenging.

An interdisciplinary team from the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality is tackling the issue head-on with In Event of Moon Disaster, a new website showcasing a “complete” deepfake of President Richard Nixon delivering a real contingency speech written in 1969 for a scenario in which the Apollo 11 crew were unable to return from the moon—a speech he never actually recorded. 

Launching on the 51st anniversary of the moon landing, the interactive website will serve as a resource hub where educators and media consumers can deepen their understanding of deepfakes: how they are made and how they work; their potential use and misuse; and what is being done to combat them. Also included is a new documentary on deepfakes from Scientific American, centered on a behind-the-scenes making-of feature on In Event of Moon Disaster.

The project is supported by the MIT Open Documentary Lab and the Mozilla Foundation, which awarded In Event of Moon Disaster a Creative Media Award last year. These awards are part of Mozilla’s mission to realize more trustworthy AI in consumer technology. 

Discover the website on 20 July at moondisaster.org.

Want to catch a sneak peak? Watch the trailer on YouTube.