DIGITAL
THE SOCIETAL AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF DEEPFAKES – AFFORDANCES AND CONSTRAINTS
1 IULM University of Languages and Communication (ITALY)
2 Mid Sweden University (SWEDEN)
2 Mid Sweden University (SWEDEN)
About this paper:
Appears in: INTED2026 Proceedings
Publication year: 2026
Article: 0597
ISBN: 978-84-09-82385-7
ISSN: 2340-1079
doi: 10.21125/inted.2026.0597
Publication year: 2026
Article: 0597
ISBN: 978-84-09-82385-7
ISSN: 2340-1079
doi: 10.21125/inted.2026.0597
Conference name: 20th International Technology, Education and Development Conference
Dates: 2-4 March, 2026
Location: Valencia, Spain
Dates: 2-4 March, 2026
Location: Valencia, Spain
Abstract:
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has become an integral part of our lives with a frequent use and daily content generation. GenAI is multimodal and that the rapidly increasing number of synthetic deepfakes today take a central place in ongoing debates. Deepfakes literally create an alternative reality which can have controversial effects on society, since it simultaneously might be both positive and negative. This study has the aim of analyzing and discussing how society and politics might be affected of the increasing spread of deepfakes. The overall research question for this literature study was: "What affordances and constraints could be identified regarding the societal and political aspects of deepfakes in education?"This study represents one of the stages of a longitudinal study that aims at building a framework for understanding the effects of deepfakes on various spheres. The research method was a literature review where the involved publications were retrieved from the Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases. After an initial selection process with inclusion and exclusion criteria, 31 peer-reviewed articles published between 2021 and 2025 were analyzed. The method was a deductive inductive thematic analysis using the Affordance Theory as a theoretical lens.
The analysis of the selected papers revealed a dual spectrum of impact regarding the potential affordances and constraints of deepfakes in the social and political spectrum. On the one side, deepfakes offer opportunities for generating content that might be used in the education and creative industries. On the other side, deepfakes may be used for malicious purposes to undermine public trust and the integrity of information safety. Thus, this study focuses on a critical reflection of the societal and political implications of deepfakes to provide a framework for designing strategies to foster deepfake literacy and critical awareness among online users.