Satisfied ~ Divided AI clip

An audio clip of a local school principal making derogatory remarks has gone viral online, sparking death threats against educators and sending ripples through the suburbs outside Baltimore City. However, it was soon exposed as a fake manipulated by artificial intelligence. So why do people still believe this is real?

“I really don’t understand why I have to put up with these idiots here every day.”

Thus began what appeared to be a lengthy rant, peppered with racist, anti-Semitic and offensive metaphors, by the Pikesville High School principal. Apparently it was secretly recorded.

The speaker went on to lament the “ungrateful black children” and Jews in the community.

The clip was first posted in January and went viral nationwide. But in the peaceful, leafy suburb of Pikesville, home to large black and Jewish communities, and in nearby Baltimore City, Maryland, the event really struck a nerve. Principal Eric Eiswart has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

Alfie Malone, a black man who lives near Baltimore, saw other members of his community posting the video and assumed it was real.

“In the back of your mind, you think this might be what people actually feel about us,” Malone said. “Then I discovered audio to actually hear it.”

To confirm what he heard, Malone checked other actual recordings of Eiswart on social media, and they sounded the same.

So the part-time postman and part-time podcaster hit the reshare button.

The clip started gaining attention across social media as more people spread it online. One of the most shared versions was on track to surpass 2 million views within hours. It’s already about 60 times the entire population of Pikesville.

But the people who shared the clip didn’t realize at the time that another bomb was about to be dropped. That means the clip was fake and generated by AI.

For BBC Radio 4’s Why Do You Hate Me USA, I traveled to Maryland to investigate the impact this clip had on that town. It reads almost like a fable about the dangers posed by AI, especially when local communities are targeted.

When the clip landed on the desk of Kristen Griffith, an education reporter at the Baltimore Banner, she thought it would be a relatively simple story about a teacher being exposed for making offensive remarks.

However, as is best practice in journalism, Ms Griffiths wanted to give the principal an opportunity to comment and tell her side of the story. So she contacted his union representative, who not only condemned the comments but also told her that he had not made them.

“He immediately said, oh, we think this is fake… we believe this is AI,” she told the BBC. “I had never heard of that angle before.”

But when she published that explanation, readers were not convinced. Far from raising questions about the authenticity of the footage, it only fueled a backlash from those who saw the alleged fabrication as a mere excuse or attempt to avoid responsibility.

At this point, local police began investigating the incident. Pikesville High School officials said they feel threatened by the attention and fear the school is being tapped with recording devices.

Principal Eiswart’s reputation also suffered a severe blow. Security has been increased around him and the school. He became the target of hate and threats on social media. They found dozens of abusive messages targeted at him on social media.

And in April, Baltimore Police Chief Robert McCullough admitted he had “conclusive evidence that the recordings are not real.”

And they believed they knew who made the fakes.

Police have charged Dazon Darien, 31, the school’s athletics director, on several charges related to the fake video. Charges include theft, retaliation against a witness and stalking.

The man was arrested at the airport, and police said he was heading to Houston, Texas.

Police said Darien was being investigated by principal Eiswart for allegedly stealing $1,916 (£1,460) from the school. They also claimed there were “job performance challenges” and his contract was unlikely to be renewed.

Their theory was that by creating a deepfake recording, they hoped to discredit the principal before he was fired.

Investigators said they traced the email used to send the original video to a server connected to Darien, who used the Baltimore County Public Schools computer network to access AI tools. claims. He is scheduled to stand trial in December 2024.

Darien’s legal representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Miriam Rogers previously called this a “very difficult time” for school officials, principals and their families.

Representatives from Pikesville High School and Mr. Eiswart did not respond to requests for further comment.

The clip was audio-only, so there were no visual elements such as robot movements that would normally reveal AI operations. They also mentioned technical terms such as “grade level expectations” and details that only those close to the school would know, such as staff names.

However, if you listen carefully, there is a clear edit between the sentences, and the voice resembles the principal’s, but sounds very monotone. Artificial intelligence can use minutes of actual recordings, such as speeches from your favorite movie actors or presidential candidates, to generate clips that sound as if they said things they never said.

But perhaps the biggest reason people believed the video was real was because it felt real, Malone said.

The work reflected his own experiences with racism as a black man living in Baltimore.

When Malone heard her principal describe black students as lazy, she immediately thought of the slurs and discrimination she encountered at school and at work.

Months later, the effects of the fake audio clip are still being felt in Pikesville. Eiswart has changed jobs and is working at a different school. And while some community members told me they now accept the video is fake, the damage is done.

“This is a Jewish neighborhood, and it’s upsetting to say something so inflammatory to that community,” said a woman named Sharon as she packed her grandson’s pram into her car last August at a house across the street from the high school. the woman told me.

For several minutes, Sharon spoke to me as if the footage were real.

“I think when people say things like that, other people join in and it just adds to the fear.”

When her husband chimed in from his car to remind her that the footage was actually fake, she admitted, “I later learned it was generated by AI.” But she said she was still angry about it.

For people like Sharon who believed, even for a short period of time, that the footage was real, especially when the message reflected real experiences of racism and discrimination, I found that the images remain in my mind. It reminded me of something I’ve heard many times while researching misinformation and conspiracy theories. “I think that’s what they think, even if it’s not true.”

All major social media companies say they have policies in place to label, remove and limit the spread of AI-generated posts. However, this action will only be taken if the clip is proven to be fake. At that point, it may have already reached millions of people.

Alfie Malone said he spoke to a friend earlier in the day who didn’t yet know the clip was generated by AI.

“Honestly, I don’t think a lot of people in this city actually know that that’s not true,” he said.

He said he regretted that the school’s principal, Mr Eiswart, had been unfairly accused of making this comment. He also worries that the episode will undermine the real experience of racism.

He said he would think twice before sharing clips like this again.

“I was once burned in a fire. I will never touch the stove again.”