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[ARTICLE · art-99932] src=404media.co ↗ pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=· neutral

The Future of Deepfakes and the Decline of Reality (With Hany Farid)

Hany Farid, cofounder of deepfake detection company GetReal and developer of PhotoDNA, discussed the evolution of AI-generated imagery and its impact on perceptions of reality in a 404 Media podcast episode. Farid, whose PhotoDNA algorithm is used by every major internet platform to remove harmful images, reflected on conversations with 404 Media that began in 2017 when deepfakes first emerged.

read2 min views5 publishedAug 17, 2026
The Future of Deepfakes and the Decline of Reality (With Hany Farid)
Image: 404Media (auto-discovered)

I think we’re pretty good at telling the difference between an AI generated image and a real photograph, but when I need help I call Hany Farid.

Farid is the cofounder of GetReal, a company that specializes in detecting deepfakes and other AI-generated images, and is the developer of PhotoDNA, a perceptual hashing algorithm that helps companies automatically detect and remove some of the worst images that exist online, and that is now being used by every serious internet platform in the world.

We started talking to Hany regularly in 2017, when Sam first reported on deepfakes. As that technology evolved and changed how we perceive reality, so have our conversations. I wanted to talk to him today on the podcast so you could hear of those conversations, and so that Hany and I could zoom out, reflect on the past few years, and speculate about where we might be headed.

404 Media is a journalist-founded company and needs your support. To subscribe, go to 404media.co. As well as bonus content every single week, subscribers get access to additional episodes where we respond to their best comments. Subscribers also get early access to our interview series. Gain access to that content at 404media.co.

Listen to the weekly podcast on [ Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-404-media-podcast/id1703615331?ref=404media.co),

[, or](https://open.spotify.com/show/0F3oY47l2XgoBMaAmIaw29?ref=404media.co)

__Spotify__[.](https://www.youtube.com/@404Mediaco/videos?ref=404media.co)

__YouTube__Become a paid subscriber for early access to these interview episodes and to power our journalism. If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player.

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