Clarity is the Punchline: How Message Alignment and Disclaimers Shape Audience Responses to Deepfake Parodies

This study examines how deepfake parody videos can be strategically designed to reduce misbeliefs and influence policy attitudes. Guided by humor-processing theories, dual-path persuasion models, and audience predisposition frameworks, a 2 (message alignment: aligned vs. conflict) × 3 (disclaimer: parody vs. AI vs. none) between-subjects experiment (N = 1,428) was conducted with U.S. adults recruited from an online panel to test how message alignment and disclaimer types shape audience responses. Results showed that message-aligned parodies enhanced comprehension and reduced both misbeliefs and policy support, compared to message-conflict parodies. Contrary to expectations, disclaimer types had limited effects, with only the parody disclaimer increasing perceived humor. Importantly, humor contributed to persuasive outcomes only when paired with sufficient comprehension. Multi-group structural equation modeling further revealed that pathways involving perceived comprehension difficulty varied by preexisting issue attitudes, but accuracy in detecting the intended meaning consistently predicted reduced misbeliefs and policy support across groups. These findings highlight the corrective potential of message clarity in satiric parody, challenge assumptions about the efficacy of disclaimers, and offer insights for designing prosocial deepfake parody interventions in public communication.