photo caption, Community volunteer Alfie Malone and journalist Christine Griffiths were left torn over what to do with the disturbing audio clip, which was both found to be fake.Article related information
An audio clip of a school principal in the United States making racial slurs went viral online, causing a stir in the surrounding area, with teachers receiving death threats.
Although this statement was revealed to be fake and manipulated by artificial intelligence, some residents still believe it to be true.
“I really don’t understand why I keep putting up with these idiots every day.”
That’s how the Pikesville High School principal’s lengthy rant begins, filled with racism, anti-Semitism, and offensive metaphors. It sounds as if it was secretly recorded.
The principal goes on to rail against the “ungrateful black kids” and the Jews in the community.
The video, first posted in January, went viral nationwide. The video caused a stir in Pikesville, a peaceful suburb with a dense black and Jewish community, and the nearby city of Baltimore, Maryland. Principal Eric Eiswert was placed on paid leave pending the investigation.
Alfie Malone, a black man living near Baltimore, believed the video posted by community members was real.
“In my mind, I thought this might be how people actually feel about black people,” Malone said. “I can’t believe I actually heard those words through audio.”
Malone tried to confirm Principal Eiswort’s voice on social media, and after listening to the actual voice posted on social media, he confirmed that the voice was the same.
The part-time postman and podcast host hit the share button.
The clip began gaining attention on social media as more people shared it online. One of the most shared versions reached more than 2 million views in just a few hours. This figure is approximately 60 times the entire population of Pikesville.
However, the people who shared this video at the time did not realize that the video was a fake created by artificial intelligence.
When I went to Maryland for BBC Radio 4’s Why Does America Hate Me, I investigated the impact this clip had on the town. This incident felt like a kind of allegory about the dangers that AI can pose, especially when one region is targeted.
Why artificial intelligence fake news is spreading
When Christine Griffith, an education reporter for the Baltimore Banner, first saw the video, she thought it would be a relatively simple story about a teacher being exposed for making offensive remarks.
But following best journalistic practices, Griffith wanted to give the principal a chance to make his case. So she contacted the union representative, who said Principal Eiswort not only condemned the comments, but also said he did not make them.
“The principal immediately said this was fake. “We think the video is AI,” a union representative told the BBC, adding: “We’ve never thought of that before.”
However, when Griffith reported this story in an article, readers were not convinced. Rather than raising questions about the video’s veracity, it only sparked backlash from people who thought the claim that it was fake was just an excuse or an attempt to avoid responsibility.
At this point, local police began investigating the incident. Staff at Pikesville High School said they felt unsafe because of all the attention and expressed concerns that the school might be wiretapped.
Principal Eiswort’s reputation also took a serious hit. Security around the principal and school has been strengthened. He became the target of hate and threats on social media. Dozens of abusive messages targeting him were confirmed on social media.
photo caption, The community is shocked after police and the school board say a Pikesville High School employee faked the audio.
And last April, Baltimore Police Chief Robert McCullough confirmed that he had “conclusive evidence that the recordings were not real.”
They were sure who the culprit who created the false negative was.
Police charged the school’s athletics director, 31-year-old Dajon Darien, with several counts related to the fake video. The charges included theft, retaliation against a witness and stalking.
Police said they arrested Darien at the airport as he was about to board a flight to Houston, Texas.
Police said Darien was being investigated by Principal Eiswort for allegedly stealing $1,916 (about 2.6 million won) from the school. It also said there were “problems with his ability to perform his duties” and that his contract was likely not to be renewed.
Accordingly, the police assumed that he intended to discredit the principal by creating a deepfake recording before being fired.
Investigators traced the email used to transmit the original video to a server connected to Darien, and allege he used the Baltimore County Public Schools’ computer network to access the AI tool. He is scheduled to go on trial in December 2024.
Darien’s legal representative did not respond to a request for confirmation.
Baltimore County Superintendent Myriam Rogers previously called this a “very difficult time” for the school community, principal and his family.
Representatives for Pikesville High School and Principal Eiswort also did not respond to requests for further comment.
Why did people believe this video?
Because the video was audio-only, it lacked the visual clues, such as stiff movements, that typically reveal AI manipulation. Also mentioned were jargon such as ‘grade level expectations’ and other details such as staff names that only those close to the school would know.
However, if you listen closely, you can see editing between sentences and the voice, although similar to the principal, sounds quite monotonous. Artificial intelligence can use minutes of actual recordings, such as your favorite movie star or a presidential candidate’s speech, to create clips that make it sound like something was said at all.
Local resident Malone said perhaps the biggest reason people believed the video was real was because it felt real.
The video reminded Malone of his experiences with racism as a black man living in Baltimore.
When Malone heard the principal call black students lazy, he recalled experiences of degradation and discrimination he experienced at school and at work.
Months later, the effects of the fake audio clip are still being felt in Pikesville. Principal Eiswort has moved on to work at another school. Some local residents say they now acknowledge the video is fake, but the damage has already been done.
“This is a Jewish neighborhood, and I’m angry that people are making inflammatory remarks about it,” said a woman named Sharon as she loaded her grandson’s stroller into her car from a house across from the school in August.
Sharon spoke to the reporter for several minutes as if the video was real.
“I think when people say things like that, it makes other people join in and it makes them even more scared.”
When her husband reminded her in the car that the clip was fake, Sharon admitted, “I found out later that it was an AI-generated video.” But she said she was still angry.
photo caption, Fake video continues to impact Pikesville
Those who, like Sharon, even for a moment believed the video was real, said the principal’s fabricated comments were especially memorable because they reflected real-life experiences of racism and discrimination. Hearing these words reminded me of something I’ve heard over and over again while researching misinformation and conspiracy theories. “I think people think that even if it’s not real.”
All major social media companies say they have policies to label, remove and limit the spread of AI-generated posts. However, this action will only be taken if it is proven that the clip in question is fake. By that point, it may have already reached millions of people.
Alfie Malone said he spoke to a friend that morning who had no idea the clip was AI-generated.
“I honestly think a lot of people in this city don’t know that’s not true,” he said.
He said he regretted that the school’s principal, Mr. Eiswort, had been wrongly accused of the remarks. He also worries that this will cover up real-life experiences of racism.
He said he would think twice before sharing such videos again.
“I once got burned in a fire. “I will never touch a stove again.”
