“One Video Could Start a War”: A Qualitative Interview Study of Public Perceptions of Deepfake Technology

ABSTRACT What is the public's perception of deepfake technology's impact on society? This study reports findings from a reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with 33 US adults. Among the themes that represent participants' perception of the technology's impact on society, the following most salient themes are reported: increase in political misinformation; increased political and ideological polarization of society; increase in the number of conspiratorial videos; increased potential of harm to marginalized groups and individuals; and children's vulnerability to being deceived via deepfakes. In addition, a summary theme collating public perspectives on positive implications of deepfake technology is presented. This study lays the groundwork for further qualitative and quantitative investigations of deepfake technology's impact on society as understood from the perspective of society's foremost constituents—people.