BAKU STATE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL of
PROBLEMS OF MEDIA
VİSUAL FORGERY AND THE PROBLEM OF CREDİBİLİTY OF NEWS
Received: 03-Feb-2026 Accepted: 10-Feb-2026 Published: 07-Apr-2026 Read PDFDownload PDF
Aynur NASIROVA
DOI:
Abstract
The rapid development of digital technologies and artificial intelligence has significantly influenced the forms of production and consumption of visual content in audiovisual media. The most dangerous aspect of this transformation is the emergence of
deepfake technologies. “Deepfake” refers to artificially generated videos created by
combining images to produce new footage that depicts events, statements, or actions
that never actually occurred.
The article entitled “Visual Forgery and News Credibility: The Deepfake
Problem” examines deepfake technology as a form of visual manipulation and analyzes
the threats it poses to news credibility from both theoretical and practical perspectives.
The study is based on real-world examples and demonstrates, with factual evidence,
that deepfakes are fabricated videos created through digital software using face-swapping techniques.
In the context of television and online news environments, deepfake videos are
analyzed as tools of disinformation, manipulation, and the shaping of public opinion.
Based on recent deepfake cases recorded in various countries, the research evaluates
the risks posed by this technology in terms of undermining political trust, decreasing
confidence in media institutions, and challenging journalistic professionalism and media ethics.
At the same time, the study highlights the difficulties of detecting deepfake content, the growing skepticism of audiences toward visual materials, and the deepening
of the “post-truth” phenomenon. Deepfake technology is examined not only as a technological issue but also as a social, ethical, and information security problem. The article
emphasizes the necessity of institutional and professional approaches to safeguarding
visual credibility in news production.