DISINFORMATION, DEEPFAKES, AND THE CRISIS OF CREDIBILITY IN DIGITAL MEDIA

Abstract

This paper seeks to dissect the new threat of disinformation, deepfakes that influences the believability has of social media platforms. Through the use of social media, some politically affiliated information warfare carries out falsehoods and twist reality by creating contentious divisions in society; at the same time, deepfakes are created with help from artificial intelligence. The study shows how these phenomena affect credibility of information in digital media making it very hard for anyone to distinguish between what is authentic or fake. The research seeks to understand the nature of fake news, the current perception from the public and how it affects the trust in media and possible measures including the use of artificial intelligence in detection of fake news, media literacy, and policies to be put in place by governments. It was concluded that though technological based approaches have potentials, they alone are inadequate and an interrelated efforts from education, regulation, and technologies are needed in order to solve this worsening problem.

Keywords: Disinformation, Deepfakes, Digital Media, Credibility, Public Trust, AI Detection, Media Literacy