The Deepfake Files

Client: THE WILSON CENTER

Set in a moody retro 1980s office, players work as part of the Content Authority Tracking (CAT) Team under their stern yet charismatic boss - the office cat. Designed for both single-player and multiplayer modes, players must investigate and sort through deepfake mitigation and identification strategies while evaluating their effectiveness. Players engage in collaborative discussions on watermarks, AI detection tools, and media forensics, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses for understanding and controlling the proliferation of deepfakes. Each session concludes with a “purrformance review” from the office cat, who provides feedback on their accuracy and decision-making. The Deepfake Files aims to dispel common misconceptions and educate congressional and senatorial staffers on the strengths and weaknesses of various deepfake identification and mitigation strategies. 

FableVision developed the creative conceit and game mechanics of the interactive. Building off of past collaborations with the Wilson Center, FableVision leveraged existing multiplayer functionality and interactive interface for The Deepfake Files. The Wilson Center provided the content guidance from interviews with synthetic media experts and independent research.

FableVision built The Deepfake Files using the Node.js implementation of Socket.IO 4 to facilitate non-local multiplayer, and Vue.js for the front end to facilitate an interactive interface using player data. The interactive’s design has a retro vector style, and uses a warm color scheme to humorously counter the cutting edge nature of deepfake technology.

A Peek Inside

Product: Multiplayer Interactive Simulation

Age Range: Adults

Tech Specs: HTML5 (web app)