Deepfake Phenomenon: An Advanced Form of Fake News and Its Implications on Reliable Journalism

In the era of distinctly new media-marked social reality, the process of dissemination of disinformation is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon. As one of the technological innovations that stands out in this field is the deepfake phenomenon – a hyper-realistic digital falsification of video and audio formats. Since it is based on the most sophisticated technology, supported by achievements in the field of artificial intelligence, deepfake unequivocally represents a kind of turning point in the context of production and distribution of fake audio-visual content. To poly perspective point to the multiple repercussions of this phenomenon, the paper provides a deeper insight into the very definition and the specific factors that contribute to the acceptance of deepfake, with special emphasis on its implications on reliable journalism and its social function. The text articulates the role of deepfake in the process of creating and receiving media content, as well as the problem of the emergence of erosion of public trust within a hyperreal media environment.