Algorithmic authenticity is the new cornerstone of democratic society

The rapid evolution of synthetic media—particularly deepfake technology—poses an existential threat to trust in digital society and, critically, to democratic processes worldwide. Video and audio recordings were once considered the gold standard of objective truth; today, they can be fabricated with unsettling realism using generative AI. For any organisation dedicated to maintaining digital integrity, understanding this threat is the first step toward building resilience.

Elections and deepfakes: weaponising ignorance

Deepfake Democracy refers to the calculated use of fabricated media to influence political outcomes, sow discord or undermine public confidence. Malicious actors, both foreign and domestic, leverage deepfakes to:

• Fabricate political events: circulate hyper-realistic videos of political figures making damaging statements or engaging in illicit activities they never performed.
• Target vulnerable communities: disseminate manipulated content tailored to reinforce specific biases, often targeting demographics with lower digital literacy.
• Influence voter opinion: as seen in recent examples involving cloned voices used in robocalls, AI-generated audio can be deployed to suppress voter turnout or spread false procedural information.

The core threat here is the erosion of epistemic quality—the factual basis of public debate. When citizens cannot trust the evidence presented to them, rational discourse decays, leading to political instability and increased societal polarisation. If you keep up with the news through reputable channels, you’ll have noticed symptoms of this already. If you’re literate and educated, you’ll have a greater resistance to the erosion of factual quality than others, but everyone here is at risk.

A post-truth society: synthetic-media playground

Beyond politics, synthetic media accelerates the “post-truth” environment. The mere existence of deepfakes allows bad actors to strategically deflect blame and deny uncomfortable facts, leading to widespread doubt about all digital content.

Three systemic risks to digital trust:

1. The liar’s dividend, where the ubiquity of deepfake technology makes it easy for public figures to simply dismiss genuine, damaging videos as “deepfakes,” undermining what is verifiable truth.
2. Reputation damage and corporate fraud, targetting executives or organisations with fabricated videos announcing false mergers, financial failures, or derogatory remarks, causing stock price volatility and reputation damage.
3. Authentication failure, with AI capable of fooling biometric and liveness detection systems used for identity verification, compromising cybersecurity at its core.

It’s critical that society’s decision-takers understand how important deepfake detection is. Only through continuous technological advancement, education and awareness can we safeguard our future and contribute to a resilient global democracy.