Beyond Credibility: The Effects of Different Forms of Visual Disinformation

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.