Sharing of deepfakes possibly linked to fear of missing out

New research suggests the reasons people deliberately share deepfakes like these with others could be linked to social media use, the fear of missing out (Fomo) and a person’s analytical skills.

A study by Asst Prof Saifuddin Ahmed from NTU Singapore’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information found that people who tend to use social media to get their news fix are more likely to intentionally share deepfakes such as AI-manipulated pictures, videos or audio clips with others.

It also found that such social media use was linked to people who were more anxious about being out of touch with their social connections, which could influence them to share deepfakes.

The findings were based on online surveys of about 760 people in the US and 530 in Singapore in 2020, and were consistent for both countries.