Deepfake
A deepfake is realistic synthetic or manipulated audio, imagery, or video that depicts a person or event differently from what actually occurred.
Emerging ConceptWhat does it mean in everyday language?
It can make a person appear to say or do something they never said or did.
An example
A generated video appears to show a public figure giving a speech they never delivered. It remains synthetic even if viewers know it is a parody.
A more precise definition
Deepfake is a widely used but variably bounded term for highly realistic synthetic or manipulated media, often created with machine learning, that depicts people or events in ways not supported by the source record.
Key features
- Realistic representation
- Computational synthesis or manipulation
- Often concerns identity or event authenticity
Where the definition stops
Not all synthetic media is a deepfake, and a deepfake is the artifact—not its psychological effect.
How it relates to synthetic imprinting
A deepfake is one kind of content researchers might study. The existence of a convincing clip does not establish that it changed anyone's memory or beliefs.
Research context
Research examines detection, credibility, uncertainty, trust, political effects, and governance.
Related terms
- Synthetic Media Emerging Concept
- Audiovisual Credibility Emerging Concept
- Provenance Signal Emerging Concept
- Voice Cloning Emerging Concept
- Disinformation Established Concept
Sources and further reading
- Deepfakes and Disinformation: Exploring the Impact of Synthetic Political Video on Deception, Uncertainty, and Trust in News — Cristian Vaccari, Andrew Chadwick (2020). Social Media + Society, 6(1).
- An Average Joe, a Laptop, and a Dream: Assessing the Potency of Homemade Political Deepfakes — Gillian Murphy, Didier Ching, Eoghan Meehan, John Twomey, Aaron Bolger, Conor Linehan (2025). Applied Cognitive Psychology.
Cite this definition
APA: SyntheticImprinting.com. (2026). Deepfake. https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/deepfake/
MLA: “Deepfake.” SyntheticImprinting.com, 2026, https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/deepfake/. Accessed September 26, 2026.
Chicago: SyntheticImprinting.com. “Deepfake.” Last modified 2026-09-24. https://syntheticimprinting.com/terms/deepfake/.
What the status means
A term in research or professional use whose meaning still varies across fields.
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