Investigation of User Comments on Videos Generated by Deepfake Technology

Abstract

The ease of content production with developing technologies has caused deepfake-based videos to gain popularity and prevalence on social media platforms. Deepfake technology can be used for both manipulation and entertainment purposes because it can imitate people's voices and faces realistically. This study aims to evaluate user perceptions of content produced using deepfake technology. For this purpose, we captured the comments of the first three videos with the most views on the relevant theme on YouTube using the Python programming language. From each video, top-level comments that received 100 or more likes, along with 50 randomly selected comments with fewer than 100 likes, were analyzed through content analysis to ensure the inclusion of both prominent and less visible user perspectives. As a result of the analysis conducted on the data set collected from the YouTube platform, it was observed that users experienced feelings such as admiration and surprise toward the content produced with deepfake technology, as well as fear and anxiety regarding potential risks.

Keywords

• Deepfake
• Artificial Intelligence
• Synthetic Content
• Content Manipulation
• Social Media

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