The Erasure of Truth? Public Trust in News Media Amid the Proliferation of AI-Generated Video and Deepfakes

الملخص

Background: The fast development of generative artificial intelligence technology allows machines to create large amounts of synthetic media which consists of machine-generated audiovisual content that raises deep concerns about how people determine what information is true in their public communications.

Purpose: This article studies how AI-generated video content spreads throughout society while simultaneously making people doubt news organizations although the main problem emerges from an overall breakdown of social verification systems instead of individual cases of false information. Methods/Approach: The article uses critical discourse analysis together with comparative case study methods to analyze empirical data about deepfake trust levels and people’s ability to detect them and their production of the "liar's dividend" which describes how people use deepfake knowledge to doubt genuine proof. The study analyzes three distinct situations which include the worldwide voting process of 2024 and the political use of deepfake accusations and the way news organizations handle their source information.

Findings: The research shows that people develop increasing levels of skepticism about synthetic media after multiple viewings which continue to affect them even after scientists prove the media as fake. The 2024 electoral disinformation spread through cheapfakes which appeared as the most common type of content instead of deepfakes with complex features. The liar's dividend presents a greater threat to journalistic authority because it affects public trust in media organizations through longer periods than synthetic content does. Media literacy functions as a protective factor which stops people from losing trust in news media.

Implications: The article introduces the "Synthetic Media Trust Deficit" concept which establishes a new element in media credibility theory while it supports the need for combined efforts between journalism and platform governance and media literacy policy to protect epistemic security beyond technological detection systems.