Chapter Twenty #2
“No! Christ, that’s not what I’m saying.
” He stood and began to pace in front of the TV.
“That is literally not me. It looks like me, I know it does because I’ve got two working eyes, but .
. . It’s. Not. Me.” He snatched the remote off the ottoman and rewound the video to the beginning. “Please just hear me out.”
Poppy slipped off the arm of the couch and took a seat on the cushion Cash had vacated with her feet drawn up and her knees
hugged to her chest. “I’m listening.”
She’d always listen.
He offered her a ghost of a smile, wan and weak. “Okay. This is going to sound crazy, but I was reading about deepfakes. About
how people can use artificial intelligence to swap faces and—Poppy, I think someone did that to me. At the seventeen second
mark, the video glitches. You’ve got to pay attention to my face, okay? My eyes and my mouth.”
Poppy rested her chin on her knees. “Seventeen seconds. Glitch. Watch your face. Got it.”
Cash pressed play and the video started. She wrinkled her nose, watching as Cash threaded his fingers through Ashley’s hair
and—
Wait.
Poppy leaned closer to the screen. “Go back.”
Cash held down on the rewind button and started the video from the beginning.
His hand was in her hair. He leaned in and—
The video glitched.
It fucking glitched.
“Oh my god.”
Cash sucked in a sharp breath. “Did you see it?”
“I saw it. Your mouth looks weird.”
He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and stood there, breathing in, and breathing out, shoulders trembling.
“Cash?”
He lowered his hands and blinked hard like he was fighting back tears. “Fuck.” A broken laugh left his lips. “You really saw it?”
“Yeah.” She blinked hard and fast, holding back tears too. “I did.”
“You believe me?” He tossed the remote down and climbed up onto the couch beside her. “You—you know I didn’t do it?”
Cash was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a liar, and he was a terrible actor. He couldn’t fake this kind of bone-deep relief.
“I do. I believe you.” Poppy nodded. “I shouldn’t have doubted—”
“No.” Cash shook his head. “I know what it looked like. I’m just glad you see it now.” He let out a sigh and scrubbed a hand
over his face, fingers dragging down the skin beneath his eye, the corner of his mouth. “What am I supposed to do, Poppy?
Someone out there’s fucking with me. With my life. My reputation. My relationships. Fuck.”
She took a moment to breathe, to think.
“I’m guessing you’ve texted Lyric about this.”
Cash snorted. “None of my texts are going through. I keep getting a message not delivered notification. She must’ve blocked my number.” His eyes darted to her face and just as quickly he looked away, staring at
his hands. “I texted Rosaline. Same thing happened.”
Her heart clenched painfully. “Ah.”
Two weeks had passed since she’d spoken to Rosaline. Not for lack of wanting, but there was nothing to say that hadn’t been
said, nothing to say that would change a damn thing.
“Do you think—” Cash cut himself off with a wince. “I hate to ask . . .”
Her stomach hardened, muscles tensing, bracing. “Cash . . .”
“I wouldn’t ask if I had another option. Something tells me Lyric won’t exactly be receptive to another stupid Hail Mary tweet.”
Poppy winced. “Rosaline might not even listen to me.”
For all she knew, she could be blocked too. A nice, clean break, even if nothing felt particularly nice or clean about it to Poppy.
“She will,” Cash said, decisive, sounding a little more like his usual self. “You’ll see.”
Poppy (7:12 a.m.): Hi.
Poppy (7:12 a.m.): Don’t block me, please.
Poppy (7:13 a.m.): Until today, I didn’t want to admit it, not even to myself, but I thought Cash fucked up. I saw the video and I didn’t want
to believe he could do something like that, but the proof was there.
Poppy (7:14 a.m.): I made all these excuses up in my brain. Maybe he was drunk and didn’t remember. Maybe right after the kiss he pushed her
away.
Poppy (7:15 a.m.): I’m saying this so you know I’m not completely in denial. I saw what you saw. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t.
Poppy (7:15 a.m.): But Cash isn’t sleeping and he’s barely eating. He has hardly moved off the couch since the footage was shared online. He
keeps watching the video over again like it’s game tape. He’s obsessed.
Poppy (7:16 a.m.): I haven’t watched it since that night in the kitchen. But today he begged me to because he swears there’s a glitch. I didn’t
believe him until I sat down and watched it. I know it sounds crazy, but at 17 seconds the video does something hard to explain.
His mouth doesn’t look right. I’m not making this up. If you watch it, you’ll see what I mean.
Poppy (7:17 a.m.): I know you probably want to put all of this behind you, but Cash asked me to reach out because Lyric has his number blocked.
Poppy (7:32 a.m.): Merry Christmas, Rosaline.
Poppy (7:49 a.m.): I’ll leave you alone now.
Read at 7:58 a.m.
Wednesday, December 26
Subject: Impersonation Report
From: Tinder Help
To: Poppy Peterson
Dear Poppy,
Thank you for your report. Please know we take violations of our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service extremely seriously.
We’ve reviewed the reported profile and the account in question has been deleted.
The email address and phone number associated with the account have been banned indefinitely.
Unfortunately, per our company data policy, we cannot provide any other details at this time.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Best,
Molly, Tinder Customer Support
Wednesday, December 26
Subject: Request: Digital Image Analysis Assistance
From: Poppy Peterson
To: Matilda Larsson
Professor Larsson,
I’m not sure if you remember me, but my name is Poppy Peterson, and I took your course called Fact or Fiction several years
ago when I was a student at UO. I know this might be a long shot, but seeing as the course you taught was focused on media
literacy and evaluating credibility in the digital age, I was hoping you might be able to help me out by putting me in touch
with someone who specializes in analyzing digital images for tampering. If not, no worries!
Have a happy holiday season and wonderful New Year!
All the best,
Poppy Peterson (she/her)
Friday, December 28
Subject: Re: Request: Digital Image Analysis Assistance
From: Matilda Larsson
To: Poppy Peterson
Poppy,
I do remember you and hope you’re doing well!
As a matter of fact, I do know someone who specializes in digital image analysis with an emphasis on AI tampering and manipulation,
if that sounds like what you’re looking for? His name is Rodger Schillinger and he’s a professor at Carnegie Mellon and a
dear friend of mine from grad school. He works primarily out of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute. If anyone can help
you out, I think it’s Rodger.
His email address is .
I’ll drop him a line and let him know to be on the lookout for your email, if that sounds good?
All the best,
Matilda Larsson (she/they)
Associate Professor
Director, Public Relations Program
School of Journalism and Communication
219C Allen Hall
University of Oregon, Eugene
Friday, December 28
Subject: Re: Re: Request: Digital Image Analysis Assistance
From: Poppy Peterson
To: Matilda Larsson
Professor Larsson,
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You are a lifesaver! If you ever want tickets to a Pathfinders’ game, please let me know
and I’ll get you box seats!
All the best,
Poppy Peterson (she/her)
Friday, December 28
Subject: Digital Image Tampering (Referral from Prof Matilda Larsson) ??
From: Poppy Peterson
To: Rodger Schillinger
Dear Professor Schillinger,
My name is Poppy Peterson, and I was given your contact information by a past professor of mine at UO, Matilda Larsson.
I’m looking for help analyzing a brief video clip for potential manipulation.
I’m not sure if the video has simply been doctored or fully fabricated (I hope I’m using those terms correctly) and if basic editing software was used or maybe AI.
I do know it’s been tampered with to some degree and has resulted in the spread of some disastrous misinformation.
I’m sure you’re extremely busy, but it would mean the world to me if you could help. For convenience, I’ve attached the video
clip. I’m far from an expert, but it looks to me as if there’s evidence of tampering around the seventeen-second mark.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Poppy Peterson (she/her)
Monday, December 31
Subject: Re: Digital Image Tampering (Referral from Prof Matilda Larsson) ??
From: Rodger Schillinger
To: Poppy Peterson
Dear Poppy,
Matilda told me to be on the lookout for your email. I’m not entirely sure if she told you or if you’re familiar with the
work we’re doing here in the Artificial Intelligence Lab and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, but we’re developing
deepfake detection software to aid in determining what’s real and what isn’t in the age of AI. As I’m sure you can imagine,
this particular branch of technology’s rapid advancement calls for the constant tweaking and training of our software.
I won’t lie—I was leery when I received your email. There’s a growing trend of suspecting AI interference every single time a photo or video surfaces that paints a public figure in an unseemly light. Look at TikTok—everyone and their mother now believe they’re an expert on AI tampering.
On the other hand, I have three daughters who would never speak to me again if they learned I had passed up the opportunity