Merging AI Incidents Research with Political Misinformation Research: Introducing the Political Deepfakes Incidents Database

TL;DR

This paper introduces the Political Deepfakes Incidents Database (PDID), a comprehensive collection of politically-salient deepfake content designed to support research, policy, and public awareness on political misinformation and AI-generated media.

Contribution

The paper presents the creation of PDID, a novel database linking AI incidents with political communication research to analyze the prevalence and impact of political deepfakes.

Findings

PDID includes diverse deepfake content and metadata.

The database reveals trends in political deepfake usage.

It supports policy, research, and fact-checking efforts.

Abstract

This article presents the Political Deepfakes Incidents Database (PDID), a collection of politically-salient deepfakes, encompassing synthetically-created videos, images, and less-sophisticated `cheapfakes.' The project is driven by the rise of generative AI in politics, ongoing policy efforts to address harms, and the need to connect AI incidents and political communication research. The database contains political deepfake content, metadata, and researcher-coded descriptors drawn from political science, public policy, communication, and misinformation studies. It aims to help reveal the prevalence, trends, and impact of political deepfakes, such as those featuring major political figures or events. The PDID can benefit policymakers, researchers, journalists, fact-checkers, and the public by providing insights into deepfake usage, aiding in regulation, enabling in-depth analyses, supporting fact-checking and trust-building efforts, and raising awareness of political deepfakes. It is suitable for research and application on media effects, political discourse, AI ethics, technology governance, media literacy, and countermeasures.