Mid Sweden University

Deepfakes are synthetic media, like pictures, music and videos, generated with Generative Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as machine learning and multi-layered neural networks. Today, anyone can create deepfakes, a fact that opens up creative opportunities at the same time as it creates individual and societal risks. Some identified risks are bullying, defamation, news media manipulation and democracy damage. The aim of the study was to analyse and discuss how deepfakes potentially could affect digital news media in positive and negative ways. The research strategy was a qualitative cross-sectional study to get a snapshot of current attitudes in blogs, online discussion fora, and among some selected experts. In a first step, blogs and internet discussion fora on deepfakes and AI were analysed inductively. Results from the first step were used to create a question scheme for semi-structured interviews with informants that have relevant knowledge about AI and Deepfakes. Finally, interview answered were analysed thematically with the Technology Affordances and Constraints Theory as an analytical lens. Findings show that Deepfakes at the same time have both affordances and constraints. Identified affordances are the potential use of Deepfakes for speculative and provoking concepts, to illustrate scenarios that are hard or impossible to capture in traditional videos or images. Moreover, there several affordances for entertainment, and the creation of environments where realism is not an issue. Some examples are digital game graphics, background music in games, and music videos. However, findings comprise more of constraints than of affordances, where Deepfakes can lead to psychological, financial and social harm. Many images and videos in news media have been manipulated during the last decades, but Deepfakes can takes this to a level where the general trust disappears. The recommendation is to put a stronger focus on source criticism, and that discussions on which sources to trust should be an integrated part of educational programmes.