Encountering Deepfakes: A thematic analysis of comments on a music video featuring deepfake content

Much early research on deepfakes has focused on speculating about potential future harms of the technology. Everyday uses and experiences of existing deepfake content are, surprisingly, comparatively understudied. For example, there is little research that seeks to understand how people encounter and respond to deepfake content in today’s entertainment media. In this study, we conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of user's comments made in response to a Kendrick Lamar YouTube music video that featured deepfake content. In total, we analysed 1467 comments. Our findings are described by six themes; advancing realism of deepfakes, seeing is not believing, predicting dystopian threats, enhancing the experience of the song, strong emotional reactions, and ‘a toy for play’. People generally enjoyed the creativity and emotional impact that deepfakes brought to the video but those who were unaware of deepfake technology were left confused and doubting themselves. This study offers a naturalistic view of how deepfakes are encountered in everyday life.