Psychological Impact of Deepfake Threats

Abstract

Deepfakes—AI-generated synthetic media that convincingly manipulate faces, voices, or bodies—have created new forms of psychological harm. Beyond misinformation and fraud, deepfake threats trigger identity insecurity, social paranoia, reputational anxiety, sexual coercion, and trauma-based fear responses. This paper examines the psychological impact of being threatened with a deepfake, even when no deepfake is released. Using a hypothetical cross-country dataset, the study shows deepfake threat exposure correlates with elevated anxiety, fear of public humiliation, loss of self-agency, and long-term distrust of digital environments. A trauma pathway model is proposed, explaining how such threats alter self-perception, social functioning, and emotional regulation.