Development of an Instrument to Measure Perceptions of Responsibility for Deepfakes

Deepfakes can distort reality and communicate disinformation so convincing that individuals find it difficult to differentiate real from fake, which can have significant real-world effects. Faced with the challenges of Deepfakes, individuals will assign responsibility for Deepfakes to various entities and that responsibility allocation will influence many issues including regulation, distribution, legal responsibility, technological response, and societal impact among other things. To facilitate theory development and testing, our objective is to develop a survey instrument that assesses individual perceptions of responsibility associated with the Deepfake phenomenon. An initial study (N = 535) and replication study (N = 488) were conducted to create and validate this instrument. Results were then tested against a general sample of the U.S. population (N = 340) as a final validation study. Our results demonstrate reliability and discriminant validity of the 39-item survey. By understanding individual perceptions of responsibility, we aim to establish starting points for the creation of tools, techniques, policies, and procedures for improving decision-making and addressing misinformation created by Deepfakes.