## Deepfakes Are Impersonating Pastors to Try to Scam Their Congregations Religious communities around the US are getting hit with AI depictions of their leaders sharing incendiary sermons and asking for donations. ## How Do Deepfakes Work? Deepfakes are being used to create images and videos of religious leaders that seem to be directly from the live. This is possible thanks to the use of deep learning technologies, which allow us to analyze large amounts of data and learn to recognize patterns. ## Risks for Communities Deepfakes can be used to deceive people and exploit them. In this case, religious leaders are being used to share incendiary sermons and ask for donations, without their communities knowing what's going on. ## Conclusion Deepfakes can be a serious problem for religious communities. It's up to local authorities to take measures to prevent this type of deception and protect community members.