AI and authenticity: Young people’s practices of information credibility assessment of AI-generated video content

The breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have enabled the creation of hyper-realistic media content that credibly mimics human beings. As AI-generated media (AGM) become more accessible on social media platforms, concerns about young people’s capabilities to deal with mis- and disinformation are rising. This study aims to investigate young people’s practices to assess the credibility of AGM. This study applies interviews with an experiment offering two selected videos to investigate young people’s strategies for verifying the authenticity of AI-generated deepfake videos. In addition, it examines their reflections on the implications of such media. The results indicate how young people verify the authenticity of AGM based on image, sound, narrative, and intuition and how they sense mis- and disinformation from three main perspectives: techniques, consequences, and associated people. This study contributes to the exploration of AGM from the perspective of young people’s media and information literacy practices.