Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to manipulate or completely recreate images, videos, audio and text. Such deepfakes can appear deceptively real, but do not correspond to reality. This means that you see or hear something that does not exist or has never happened.

As with many technological achievements, deepfakes also have two sides: they can be entertaining, break down barriers and create new forms of creative expression. At the same time, the technology harbours considerable risks. For example, in the context of sexual violence through images ('deep nudes', 'deepfake porn'), political disinformation, identity theft, hate speech and cyberbullying.

The aim of the teaching material is to provide educational professionals and their students with basic information about deepfake technologies. The material explains what deepfakes are, how deepfakes can be used sensibly, but also the dangers they pose.

Educators also receive three project ideas for the classroom. In these projects, pupils engage critically and creatively with the topic of deepfakes and develop their information skills.