Beyond Credibility: The Effects of Different Forms of Visual Disinformation
- Author(s)
- Teresa Weikmann, Jana Egelhofer, Sophie Lecheler
- Abstract
Deepfakes dominate discussions about manipulated videos, but other forms of visual disinformation are more prevalent and less understood. Moreover, deception is often assessed through measuring credibility, overlooking cognitive effects like misperceptions and attitude changes. To address these gaps, an online experiment (N = 802) examined visual disinformation’s effects on credibility, misperceptions, and perceptions of a politician. The study compared a deepfake (machine learning manipulation), a cheapfake (rudimentary manipulation), and a decontextualized video (false context), all portraying the same politician and false message. Despite low in credibility, the deepfake and cheapfake caused a misperception, with the deepfake harming perceptions of the politician.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Communication
- External organisation(s)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- Journal
- Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
- Volume
- 102
- Pages
- 1020 - 1043
- ISSN
- 1077-6990
- Publication date
- 11-2025
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 508020 Political communication, 508012 Media impact studies
- Keywords
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/4c6f8215-4c6e-46e1-8d0d-3f1f2aac920c