捏造假新聞：馬格蘭攝影師的攝影密謀

馬格蘭攝影師喬納森．班迪克森（Jonas Bendiksen）在最近的訪談中自我揭露，今年九月他在法國指標性新聞攝影節「Visa pour l’image」投影展示的新作《韋萊斯之書》（The Book of Veles）中的照片與文章皆以造假技術完成，引發關於真實與倫理的熱議。

為了製作這件「報導」作品，班迪克森深入北馬其頓共和國的小城韋萊斯──2016年美國總統大選期間，這裡成為全球知名的假新聞工廠，當時註冊於此地的假新聞網站超過140個。班迪克森深受這個主題吸引，決定帶著相機記錄韋萊斯的居民生活與地景。

NORTH MACEDONIA. 2020. Veles. Aquapark on the outskirts of Veles © Jonas Bendiksen / Magnum Photos

NORTH MACEDONIA. 2020. Veles. Marina, who ran several fake news sites in 2016 © Jonas Bendiksen / Magnum Photos

NORTH MACEDONIA. 2020. Veles. On the hillsides above Veles © Jonas Bendiksen / Magnum Photos然而，直到班迪克森透過訪談揭開作品的「真相」後，眾人才發現被擺了一道。班迪克森確實二度踏訪韋萊斯，不過，他只拍攝無人的空間──公寓門口、房間、辦公室、建築屋頂、街角，而在拿起相機之前，他已先從網路上購買許多電腦生成的立體人物，並將照片與人物模型結合成栩栩如生的照片。攝影書中的文章則來自人工智慧，班迪克森找到「GPT-2」的可訓練式系統，餵給機器大量關於韋萊斯假新聞產業的報導，最後自動生成了一篇具有個人表達特色的五千字文章。

對於手法選擇與其背後緣由，班迪克森給予了詳細的說明。他發現，韋萊斯長久與「偽造」的關係密切。在宗教上，韋萊斯是前基督時期的神祇名稱之一，是鍾愛變形、混亂之神，擅長魔術與詐欺；1919年，一名俄國軍官在當地發現了以古斯拉夫文字寫就的木頭書簡「韋萊斯之書」，儘管數年後由一名學者破譯，這份經文的真偽至今尚無定論；2016年的假新聞熱，當地正值青年失業率高升，上千名年輕人因而投入網軍、內容農場、誤導訊息的生產鏈，獲取廣告流量暴利。這些元素彼此呼應，並且指向了隨著時代不斷轉變的偽造。

班迪克森的《韋萊斯之書》於今年四月發行時，未提及作品的製作過程，儘管攝影書的銷售相當亮眼，他也盡量保持低調，回拒了幾家雜誌的專題邀約。他自承，讓這個秘密保持一段時間，是為了測試新聞攝影同業對於真假內容的敏銳程度，而非意圖欺騙廣大讀者。他相當驚訝竟然沒有任何人出面質疑此書的內容，反而收到不少讚美，甚至有人稱讚他的文章。「在整個計畫裡，我只是試著問這些新科技代表了什麼，而且多麼容易被拿來『作惡』。我們怎麼理解攝影是某些事物的紀錄？我們有多容易被偽造的東西牽著鼻子走？」

NORTH MACEDONIA. 2020. Veles. Apartment building © Jonas Bendiksen / Magnum Photos班迪克森透過先前購入的名為「克洛伊．米斯金」（Chloe Miskin）的假帳號，陸續和600名攝影從業人員成為社群媒體好友，以此混入攝影界。在九月初Visa pour l’image發表作品之後，他主動丟出線索，開始註冊更多假帳號，並以網軍方式抨擊自己的作品花錢請人擺拍。撇開班迪克森的伎倆，這場以「造假」為主軸的密謀，最終正式結束於馬格蘭通訊社刊出訪談。

為此，Visa pour l’image總監尚．法蘭索瓦．雷霍伊（Jean François Leroy）已向當時參與攝影節的觀眾道歉，希望新聞攝影講求的信任能夠維繫下去；再者，班迪克森的作品觸碰了迫切的問題，假新聞把關在未來確實會面臨越來越多挑戰。儘管如此，雷霍伊強調，對社群媒體使用者、觀眾與攝影節團隊而言，攝影師這次的行動究竟在多大程度上越界形成欺瞞，值得更進一步的討論。

文 | 閻望雲
圖 | Magnum Photos提供
發佈日期 | 2021年10月11日

China again blocks Wikimedia Foundation’s accreditation to World Intellectual Property Organization

5 October 2021, San Francisco, CA, USA — China today blocked the Wikimedia Foundation’s bid for observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the second time after the Foundation’s initial application in 2020. 

WIPO is the United Nations (UN) organization that develops international treaties on copyright, patents, trademarks and related issues. China was again the only country to object to the accreditation of the Wikimedia Foundation as an official observer. The Foundation will reapply for official observer status in 2022, but it will only be admitted by WIPO if China decides to lift its blockade.

WIPO’s work, which shapes international rules that affect the sharing of free knowledge, impacts Wikipedia’s ability to provide hundreds of millions of people with information in their own languages. “The Wikimedia Foundation’s absence from these meetings deprives our communities of an opportunity to participate in this process,” says Amanda Keton, General Counsel of the Wikimedia Foundation. 

As in 2020, China’s statement falsely suggested that the Wikimedia Foundation was spreading disinformation via the independent, volunteer-led Wikimedia Taiwan chapter. The United States and the group of industrialized countries at WIPO — which also includes many European Union member states, Australia, Canada, the Holy See, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom — expressed their support for the Foundation’s application. Since WIPO is generally run by consensus, any one country may veto accreditation requests by non-governmental organizations. 

A wide range of international and non-profit organizations as well as private companies are official observers of WIPO proceedings and debates. These outside groups offer technical expertise, on-the-ground experience, and diversity of opinions to help WIPO carry out its global mandate. Many of these organizations have members, partners, or affiliates in Taiwan. 

“The Wikimedia Foundation operates Wikipedia, one of the most popular sources of information for people around the world. The Foundation’s exclusion sets a worrying precedent for other organizations – nonprofits and for-profits – that are committed to promoting access to information, culture, and education,” adds Keton. “We renew our call to WIPO members, including China, to approve our application. The international community must ensure meaningful civil society participation in UN fora.”

The Wikimedia Foundation provides the essential infrastructure for free knowledge and advocates for a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.