How Deep Fakes Impact Democracy

Deepfakes undermine democracy by spreading misinformation, distorting political discourse, and threatening election integrity.

In the last 10 to 20 years, we have all seen the remarkable advancement of technology and we have also seen its unprecedented challenges. One of those challenges is the rise of deepfakes - a type of synthetic media created using artificial intelligence to produce highly realistic but fake images, videos, or audio recordings.

Deepfakes are created using machine learning, to manipulate faces in a video through the use of an ‘autoencoder’. Autoencoder is a specific type of neural network used for unsupervised learning of efficient codings where a computer learns to accomplish a task after having been provided a large set of data. When this neural network is provided with an extensive video footage of a person, it can accurately replicate their appearance to superimpose the person onto a different actor. This is a drawback of technology in the sense that any sophisticated data scientists, machine learning engineers, and researchers of various fields, can manipulate a video into furthering their personal agenda, and propaganda.

As deepfakes become more sophisticated, their potential to disrupt our democratic processes and institutions grows. This resource explores how deepfakes impact democracy, by undermining its core principles and posing significant risks to public trust, political discourse, and the integrity of democratic systems.

How does deep fake impact the integrity of democratic systems?

Eroding Public Trust

Public trust is a cornerstone of any democratic society. For democracy to function effectively, we, the citizens, must trust our leaders, institutions, and the information we receive. Deepfakes threaten this trust in several ways:

Spreading Misinformation: Deepfakes can be used to create convincing false narratives about political figures, events, or policies. When such content goes viral, it can mislead the public and skew their perceptions and decisions, often reinforcing existing biases.
Creating Confusion: The mere existence of deepfakes can lead to a “liar’s dividend,” where people can deny the authenticity of genuine content by claiming it is a deepfake. This creates confusion and skepticism, making it harder for citizens to discern truth from falsehood, further eroding trust in legitimate information sources.
Undermining Media Credibility: Deepfakes can be used to discredit journalists and media outlets, eroding trust in the press and making it difficult for legitimate news to stand out amidst a sea of fake content. This undermines the critical role of the media in holding power to account.

Influencing Political Discourse

Democracy thrives on open, informed, and respectful political discourse. Deepfakes can distort this discourse in several damaging ways, particularly by inciting and reinforcing biases:

Character Assassination: Deepfakes can be used to fabricate scandalous or incriminating videos of politicians, damaging their reputations and careers. This type of attack can distract from substantive policy debates and undermine the democratic process by shifting focus to sensationalism. (Sensationalism refers to the use of shocking, exciting, or exaggerated content to attract attention and provoke emotional reactions from an audience.)
Manipulating Public Opinion: By creating fake videos of politicians making controversial statements or actions, deepfakes can manipulate public opinion and polarize communities. This can lead to increased division and reduce the possibility of constructive dialogue, which often leads to inflamed partisan biases.
Amplifying Extremism: Deepfakes can be used to spread extremist propaganda, incite violence, or deepen societal divisions. Such misuse destabilizes democratic societies and threaten social cohesion, often targeting marginalized communities and reinforcing harmful stereotypes.

Threatening Election Integrity

Elections are the bedrock of democracy, providing a mechanism for us to choose our representatives and shape our government. Deepfakes pose a direct threat to the integrity of elections:

Voter Manipulation: Deepfakes can be used to influence voters by spreading false information about candidates or parties. Misleading content can sway voter opinions and potentially alter election outcomes, often reinforcing existing prejudices and biases.
Election Interference: Foreign actors or domestic groups can use deepfakes to interfere in elections, undermining the democratic process and eroding confidence in electoral outcomes.
Post-Election Conflicts: In a tightly contested election, deepfakes can be used to challenge the legitimacy of the results, leading to post-election conflicts and undermining the peaceful transfer of power. This can create an environment where biases and misinformation flourish, further polarizing the electorate.

Deepfakes represent a significant threat to democracy, undermining public trust, distorting political discourse, and threatening the integrity of elections. Deepfakes can be used to incite and reinforce biases, manipulate voter behavior, and destabilize democratic institutions. As we as a society work on developing robust strategies to combat the dangers posed by deepfakes, it is crucial to enhance public awareness and protect ourselves from the dangers of being psychomanipulated by deepfakes. If you are interested in learning about how to detect a deepfake, please refer to our blog How to Detect a Deepfake | Election Edition. By staying vigilant about our media consumption and cross checking facts, we can protect the foundations of democracy and ensure a more secure and trustworthy digital future.

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Stay savvy and keep yourself alert!