Fake News, Deep Fakes, and Misinformation in Digital Media: Issues of Media Credibility

Abstract

            The rapid and widespread convergence of misinformation, disinformation, and synthetic media is causing the digital media ecosystem to struggle with an "Information Disorder" that is undermining the fundamental purpose of informed public conversation.  Platform economics, which put user engagement ahead of factual accuracy and take use of cognitive biases in people like in-group preference and emotional contagion, is what drives this phenomenon. It speeds up the viral spread of false narratives.  By undermining the validity of visual and aural evidence, the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI), especially Deepfakes, poses a threat to political stability and judicial certainty and creates an epistemological crisis. The most severe manifestation of this issue is the sharp fall and political division of public confidence in news outlets, which enables dishonest individuals to take advantage of widespread suspicion by employing tactics like the "Liar's Dividend."  A hybrid, multi-vector strategy that includes strong legal requirements for AI disclosure, significant funding for professional, scalable fact-checking projects, and thorough media literacy training is needed to mitigate these systemic dangers.