This study in progress explores the audience's knowledge and acceptance towards deepfakes (RQ1) and the audience’s perceived skills in identifying and dealing with them (RQ2). Therefore, in October 2022 an online experiment among media users in Germany is conducted (n = 1.421), in which the participants a) are asked about deepfakes and the technology’s impact, b) rated several risks and potentials associated with deepfakes as derived from the current body of literature, and c) are asked about their deepfake self-efficacy, attitudes towards the media, (social) media usage, personal innovativeness, intellectual humility and personality traits.

So far, audiences are expected to have low levels of knowledge and negative opinions on deepfakes, and both deepfakes’ salience and their potential dissemination by media organizations are expected to reduce audience trust in the media. Further, these effects are expected to be particularly prominent for specific groups, such as those with low news consumption, who are politically marginalized, or who have a lower level of education. The results of this study are expected to serve to deriving guidance for actors potentially affected by harmful deepfakes.