The Medieval World Had Its Own 'Deepfakes' -- Church Officials Cited a Fake Imperial Decree for Centuries

Medieval 'deepfakes': Church officials cited a fake imperial decree for centuries

Searching for truth amid falsified documents is not limited to our current era; a skeptical eye about sources' authenticity was just as important in the 15th century as it is today.

The medieval world had its own 'deepfakes' -- church officials cited a fake imperial decree for centuries

With deepfakes on the rise, forgery and deception are often viewed as distinctly modern problems -- a new era of misinformation made possible by AI.

The medieval world had its own ‘deepfakes’ – church officials cited a fake imperial decree for centuries

A fresco in the San Silvestro Chapel of Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome depicts Constantine the Great offering a crown to Pope Sylvester I. Unknown medieval artist in Rome via Wikimedia CommonsWith deepfakes on the rise, forgery and deception are often viewed as distinctly modern problems – a new era of misinformation made possible by artificial intelligence. One of the first alarming cases occurred at the start of the war in Ukraine when a docto…