Deepfakes are distorting this year’s Victorian election. We found out who’s most susceptible to them

Rory Mulcahy; Aimee Riedel; Asha Worsteling; Lucas Whittaker; Renee Barnes

doi:10.64628/AA.xp9x4ppuc

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Deepfakes are distorting this year’s Victorian election. We found out who’s most susceptible to them

Magazine article

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Deepfakes are distorting this year’s Victorian election. We found out who’s most susceptible to them

Rory Mulcahy, Aimee Riedel, Asha Worsteling, Lucas Whittaker and Renee Barnes

The Conversation, Vol.28 September 2026

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64628/AA.xp9x4ppuc

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Abstract

Politics

Elections

Misinformation

Disinformation

Deepfakes

2026 Victorian election

The Victorian election is still months away, yet voters are already being shown events which never happened. A machete attack at a petrol station, a woman giving birth on the roadside, floodwater pouring down the steps of parliament: all “deepfakes” generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and all reportedly appearing as paid advertising ahead of voters going to the polls. Previously described as a potential “sleeper issue” for Australian politics, deepfake political content is rapidly becoming a very real electoral challenge. We have been studying political deepfakes – and how people respond to them – in the lead up to the Victorian state election. Our preliminary results provide important insights into people’s ability to detect deepfakes and will help voters navigate the increasingly fraught information ecosystem as electoral campaigning ramps up.

Details

Title: Deepfakes are distorting this year’s Victorian election. We found out who’s most susceptible to them
Authors: Rory Mulcahy - University of the Sunshine Coast
Aimee Riedel - Griffith University
Asha Worsteling - Griffith University
Lucas Whittaker - Swinburne University of Technology
Renee Barnes - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: The Conversation, Vol.28 September 2026
Publisher: Conversation Media Group
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.64628/AA.xp9x4ppuc
ISSN: 2201-5639
Copyright note: © The Conversation Media Group. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Organisation Unit: School of Business and Creative Industries; Work, Live and Play Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991264796102621
Output Type: Magazine article

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