Democracy Threatened? 72% of Americans Worry Deepfakes Will Influence Upcoming Elections

New research from Jumio reveals consumers feel deepfakes erode trust in politicians, with 70% reporting increased skepticism in online content

Jumio, the leading provider of automated, AI-driven identity verification, risk signals and compliance solutions, today released new findings from its Jumio 2024 Online Identity Study, revealing growing concern among Americans on the political influence AI and deepfakes may have during upcoming elections and how they might influence trust in online media. Deepfakes are realistic-looking, fake media that are created using AI and machine learning to alter images, videos or audio recordings. This technology can fabricate events, statements and appearances, spreading misinformation quickly and deceiving viewers who often take these false narratives as legitimate news.

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Recent examples highlight the real-world impact of deepfakes on political processes. In February 2024, an audio deepfake mimicking President Joe Biden was used in an automated phone call urging Democratic voters in New Hampshire not to vote in the primary election. Another instance involved a deepfake video of former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak endorsing controversial policies he never supported, which quickly spread online. These incidents demonstrate how deepfakes can be weaponized to disrupt elections and erode public trust worldwide​.

Jumio’s study examined the views of more than 8,000 adult consumers, split evenly across the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore and Mexico, providing a comprehensive global perspective on the impact of deepfakes. The data revealed that:

• 72% of American consumers are worried about the potential for AI and deepfakes to influence upcoming elections in their country.
• U.S. consumers feel deepfakes undermine trust in politicians and media, with 70% reporting increased skepticism in the content they see online, compared to the last election.
• Only 46% of global consumers believe they could easily spot a deepfake of a political figure or celebrity. This drops to 37% in the U.S. and confidence wanes by age group, with only 22% of Americans age 55 or older trusting their ability.
• Only 43% of global consumers say they trust political news that they see online, despite the possibility of encountering audio, video and image deepfakes. Americans are much less trusting (32%).

“With half of the global population participating in elections this year, the potential influence and impact of generative AI and deepfakes demand our immediate attention,” said Jumio CEO Robert Prigge. “Public faith in online information is crumbling, demanding a transparent discourse to confront this challenge and empower citizens with the tools to discern and report deepfakes. Online platforms hold a critical duty to leverage cutting-edge detection measures like multimodal, biometric-based verification systems to fortify our defenses against deepfakes influencing pivotal elections."

Find additional data and insights here.

Methodology

The research was conducted by Censuswide, with 8,077 consumers split evenly across the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore and Mexico. The fieldwork took place between March 25 and April 2, 2024. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.

About Jumio

Jumio helps organizations to know and trust their customers online. From account opening to ongoing monitoring, the Jumio platform provides advanced identity verification, risk signals and compliance solutions that help you accurately establish, maintain and reassert trust.

Leveraging powerful technology including automation, biometrics, AI/machine learning, liveness detection and no-code orchestration with hundreds of data sources, Jumio helps you fight fraud and financial crime, onboard good customers faster and meet regulatory compliance including KYC and AML. Jumio has processed more than 1 billion transactions spanning over 200 countries and territories from real-time web and mobile transactions.

Based in Sunnyvale, Jumio operates globally with offices and representation in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and has been the recipient of numerous awards for innovation. Jumio is backed by Centana Growth Partners, Great Hill Partners and Millennium Technology Value Partners.

For more information, please visit www.jumio.com.

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