3I/ATLAS Deep Fake Videos

We all need to develop TODAY’S literacy skills NOW

For many years (at least six for me) we’ve heard warnings about “deep fake” videos and the ways artificial intelligence / AI platforms will accelerate the dissemination of false and misleading information. Welcome to December 2025, when interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS are very real, but convincing / realistic videos of noted astrophysicists like Dr. Avi Loeb from Harvard are completely fake. Dr. Loeb’s post on his official Medium channel today, “Fake AI-Generated Channel of Videos About 3I/ATLAS Was Removed by YouTube,” authoritatively confirms that YouTube “fan channels” like “@draviloebofficial” are fakes and scams.

3I/ATLAS Deep Fake AI Videos (CC BY 4.0) by Wesley Fryer

The YouTube thumbnail title, “NASA IS PANIC,” should probably be a giveaway. The narrated audio on many of these channel videos actually sounds realistic / real for the most part, but there are moments (like the 8:00 mark of the video, “3?/ATLAS Is a PROBE — New Data Leaves No Doubt | Avi Loeb”) when the narrator’s voice changes weirdly and reveals the deep fake.

In his takedown email to YouTube support today, Dr. Loeb notes:

It was obvious to my fans that the videos were fake because the clock in the background was frozen on a specific time and because two weeks ago — I injured my face on a trip to a Danny Jones podcast interview in Florida — whereas the fake videos did not show any sign of the injury. Nevertheless, a news outlet included one of these videos in a report about my research on 3I/ATLAS, blending reality with fake content when reporting about science.

Media Literacy is ESSENTIAL for everyone today, and the rapid development of AI technologies is only making the need to integrate media literacy skills into our classes at all levels more pressing. This isn’t something “just students” or young people need, adults need media literacy skills too! In fact, “media literacy IS literacy” today. The need to be able to critically analyze and “interrogate” media messages is essential for all of us to lead our lives well at the close of 2025.

I invite you to get involved with groups like the Media Education Lab and Teachers for an Informed Public. I facilitate monthly, free webinars for the “MediaEd Club” of the Media Education Lab, which provide good opportunities to connect with other advocates of media literacy and learn about new strategies, tools, lesson ideas, and more. I continue to maintain a collection of recommended media literacy resources on medialiteracy.wesfryer.com.

Beware of very convincing, deep-fake videos like these circulating on YouTube now, purporting to make extraordinary claims about interplanetary space debris. We may not be alone, but we definitely are not living in the media culture of the 1950s. It’s vital we help our students develop TODAY’S literacy skills NOW.

Modern Media Literacy (CC BY 4.0) by Wesley Fryer

Cross posted from my blog, “Moving at the Speed of Creativity.”