--- title: "Deranged Reality TV Show Psychologically Tortures Participants by Showing Them Deepfakes of Their Partners Cheating" description: "A Netflix reality show has couples watch their partners cheat on them — and then has participants guess whether it was real or deepfaked." date: "2023-07-24" modified: "2023-07-24" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/reality-tv-show-deepfakes-cheating" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "deepfakes" - "reality tv" - "the digest" --- # Deranged Reality TV Show Psychologically Tortures Participants by Showing Them Deepfakes of Their Partners Cheating ![A Netflix reality show has couples watch their partners cheat on them — and then has participants guess whether it was real or deepfaked.]() *\Image: Netflix\* ## We're in Hell Just when you think reality TV can't stoop any lower, it does it yet again. To wit: in fresh new [manmade horror](), a Netflix reality show called "Falso Amor," which translates to "Deep Fake Love," splits five real-life couples up into two different houses, adds a bunch of hot singles to the mix, and then subjects individuals to the experience of watching their partner cheat on them in videos that *may or may not be deepfaked.* Yes, seriously, and from the streaming service that brought you "Black Mirror." The Spanish-language program asks participants to watch the cheating clips, many of which are just convincing fakes. Participants then have to guess whether the videos are [real or cooked up by the AI](). At the end of the show, the couple who guesses correctly more than anyone else wins 100,000 euros (that's about $110,000 in US dollars) because this is the world we now live in. Obviously, this premise is a dystopian nightmare — as *Platformer's* Casey Newton [put it on *The New York Times*' *Hard Fork* podcast](), "God does not exist in the universe of 'Deep Fake Love'" — and we would not wish this psychological torture on anyone. ## Ethic With Drama In another particularly dark turn, [per *Decider*](), part of the premise of the show is that the couples didn't actually know that they would be subjected to the deepfaked clips. Not to get all high and mighty about bad reality television, but there are some serious moral and ethical ambiguities here. This is a burgeoning technology, and while in some cases it's been used for [absurd fun](), it's most often used for abusive purposes — [scams](), [misinformation](), and perhaps most insidiously, [inserting real people into porn without their consent](). It could be argued, as the *Hard Fork* hosts did, that mainstreaming the tech for the bizarre premise of "Deep Fake Love" might normalize a potentially dangerous tech before we understand the breadth of impact. And to that end, there's still very little in the way of research regarding the [psychological impact of deepfakes](). Whatever deepfake tech the show's creators are using is incredibly convincing, and we can imagine that the clips could have a lasting mental and emotional impact; what exactly those impacts might be, however, and how long they might stick around, is unclear. It's safe to say that folks on Twitter had their misgivings as well. "I knew the AI shit was gonna be wild but watching this show 'Deep Fake Love' is really putting things into perspective," [tweeted one netizen](). "You're not even going to even be able to believe your eyes after a while cause of deep fakes getting better." "Nah, this Deep Fake Love show is rough," [added another](). "They're going through turmoil." **More on deepfakes:** [*Reality Is Melting as Lawyers Claim Real Videos Are Deepfakes*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()