Deepfakes and Democracy (Theory): How Synthetic Audio-Visual Media for Disinformation and Hate Speech Threaten Core Democratic Functions

Observers fear that deepfakes will shake the very foundations of democracy. Notwithstanding, in-depth scholarly analyses of deepfakes’ political impact are rare, and do not consider theories of democracy. This contribution helps close this research gap, drawing on Warren’s problem-oriented democracy theory, as well as theories of deliberative democracy and contributions on the role of trust in democracies. I identify three core functions of democratic systems and their normative foundations, namely empowered inclusion, collective agenda and will formation (supported by deliberation), and collective decision-making. Based on a literature and media analysis, I systematize different types of deepfakes serving either disinformation or hate speech and outline how they weaken core democratic functions and norms: Deepfakes impede citizens’ empowered inclusion in debates and decisions that affect them, e.g. by hampering efforts to hold political representatives accountable or further marginalizing certain societal groups such as women or ethnic minorities. Deepfakes also undermine collective agenda and will formation by threatening the epistemic quality of deliberation as well as citizens’ mutual empathy and respect. This culminates in a decreased legitimacy of collective decisions taken, which is additionally threatened by pervasive (but mostly speculative) fears of deepfake election manipulation. My analysis has implications for (future) governance efforts addressing deepfakes. Such efforts are increasing, e.g. on the part of social media platforms, but also (supra-)national regulatory bodies.