Ethics
Forensic analysis tools carry real responsibility. This is how we think about it.
Why ethics matter in detection
A deepfake detection tool is not neutral technology. It makes claims about the authenticity of media that can affect people's reputations, legal proceedings, journalistic decisions, and public discourse. Getting it wrong — in either direction — has real consequences.
A false positive (flagging authentic content as fake) can be weaponized to discredit real evidence. A false negative (missing actual manipulation) can allow harmful synthetic content to circulate unchallenged. We take both failure modes seriously.
Our Commitments
Ethical principles
1. Honest communication
We never claim certainty we don't have. Our marketing, documentation, and reports all reflect the probabilistic nature of forensic analysis. We use language like "likely," "indicators suggest," and "assessed risk" — never "definitely fake" or "guaranteed authentic."
2. Published limitations
We maintain a public page documenting our known limitations. We don't hide failure modes. When our system is less reliable (short clips, heavy compression, novel generators), we say so explicitly.
3. False positive awareness
We prioritize low false positive rates because falsely accusing authentic content of being fake can be more harmful than missing some manipulations. We calibrate our thresholds accordingly and use "Inconclusive" as a valid verdict.
4. Non-weaponization
We design our system to resist use as a weapon against authentic content. Our reports present evidence, not conclusions. They show the reasoning behind assessments so that users can evaluate the analysis, not just accept a label.
5. Privacy protection
Uploaded videos are analyzed and results are stored for the user's account only. We do not share uploaded content with third parties. We do not use uploaded content for training purposes without explicit consent.
6. Contextual humility
ClipForensics analyzes technical signals. It cannot determine intent, context, or the full truth about a situation. We explicitly state that our analysis should be one input among many in evaluating content.
7. Equitable access
We believe forensic analysis tools should be accessible to independent journalists, fact-checkers, and researchers — not just well-funded organizations. We offer free tiers and prioritize accessibility.
Ongoing work
Ethics is not a checkbox — it's an ongoing practice. We regularly review our systems, communication, and policies against these principles. We welcome feedback and criticism from users, researchers, and ethicists.
If you have concerns about how ClipForensics is being used or could be improved, please contact us.