The Impact of Deepfakes on Public Trust in Digital Media : Exploring Public Perception of Media Trust

Sammanfattning

Deepfake is a type of AI-generated content that refers to the generation of visual or audio content created or edited by AI tools, which may depict real or non-existent people. Such deepfake contents raise social and ethical concerns. This study focuses on how exposure to deepfakes influences public perceptions of media trust. Findings reveal that repeated exposure to deepfakes and difficulty distinguishing real from fake content erode media trust, while higher media literacy, greater confidence in detecting deepfakes, and awareness of AI-based detection tools mitigate these effects. The research contributes novel insights by demonstrating moderation effects and empirically validating the Illusory Truth Effect in the context of synthetic media.