The Effect of Deepfake Awareness on Perceived Media Credibility: The Mediating Role of Digital Trust and the Moderating Role of Media Literacy

Abstract

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has facilitated the widespread use of deepfake technologies, creating significant challenges for information reliability, digital trust, and media credibility. As AI-generated content becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from authentic media, understanding the factors that influence individuals' evaluations of media credibility has become an important issue in communication research. Accordingly, this study examines the effect of deepfake awareness on perceived media credibility while investigating the mediating role of digital trust and the moderating role of media literacy. A quantitative research design employing a correlational survey model was adopted. The study was conducted with 356 individuals residing in the six districts of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC): Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, İskele, Güzelyurt, and Lefke. Data were collected through face-to-face and online questionnaires. The research instrument included four constructs: Deepfake Awareness, Digital Trust, Perceived Media Credibility, and Media Literacy. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and regression analyses were performed. The findings revealed that participants demonstrated high levels of deepfake awareness and media literacy, while digital trust and perceived media credibility were above average. Deepfake awareness was found to have a significant positive effect on perceived media credibility and digital trust. Furthermore, digital trust partially mediated the relationship between deepfake awareness and perceived media credibility, whereas media literacy significantly moderated this relationship by strengthening individuals' ability to evaluate AI-generated content critically. Significant differences were also observed according to age, educational level, and district of residence. The findings contribute to the growing literature on artificial intelligence, digital communication, and media studies by providing empirical evidence from the TRNC. The study also offers practical implications for universities, policymakers, and media organizations by emphasizing the importance of strengthening media literacy and digital trust to reduce the negative effects of AI-generated misinformation and enhance media credibility.