Hoffmann, C. P., Bendahan Bitton, D. & Godulla, A. | 2025

Previous research has highlighted that encounters with deepfakes induce uncertainty, skepticism, and mistrust among audiences. In this study, we relate perceived deepfake exposure to media cynicism. Deepfakes shake users’ sense of reality, increasing a need to rely on epistemic authorities, such as journalistic media, while raising fears of manipulation. Based on uncertainty management theory, we propose that two “epistemic virtues” moderate the relationship between deepfake exposure and media cynicism: self-efficacy and intellectual humility. In a survey of 1421 German internet users, we find that perceived deepfake exposure positively relates to media cynicism. Intellectual humility does not dampen this relationship. Deepfake detection self-efficacymay be more harmful than helpful in preventing media cynicism. We discuss these findings in the context of research indicating that users tend to overestimate their ability to detect deepfakes and the challenges the novel deepfake technology poses to audience trust in a digital information ecosystem.