---
type: source
id: plohl-2026-political-deepfakes-plausibility
title: How deepfake plausibility, media literacy, and personal attitudes shape detection, liking, and intentions to share political deepfakes on social media
authors:
- Nejc Plohl
- Izidor Mlakar
- Letizia Aquilino
- Michele Brienza
- Piercosma Bisconti
- Urška Smrke
year: 2026
venue: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
volume: null
pages: null
doi: 10.1057/s41599-026-09122-7
peer_review: peer-reviewed-journal
evidence_tier: B
design: 'Online experiment in three countries; participants watched manipulated political videos (climate change, immigration) varying in plausibility (technical realism and fit with the speaker''s known stance); outcomes: detection, liking, sharing intention'
modality:
- video
- audiovisual
stimuli: Political deepfake videos on climate change and immigration, high vs low plausibility
n_participants: 1124
n_note: UK, Slovenia and Italy
topics:
- human-detection
- political-deepfakes
- media-literacy
- sharing
summary: High-plausibility political deepfakes were detected less often and liked more; higher media literacy predicted better detection, less liking and lower sharing intention; favourable attitudes to the depicted person raised liking and sharing.
results:
- metric: Plausibility → detection
  value: high-plausibility deepfakes less likely to be detected
  note: no values in abstract
  source_location: abstract
- metric: Plausibility → liking / sharing
  value: more liking; no significant effect on sharing intention
  note: ''
  source_location: abstract
- metric: Media literacy
  value: better detection, less liking, lower sharing intention
  note: strong predictor across outcomes
  source_location: abstract
- metric: Attitude toward depicted person
  value: more positive → more liking and sharing intention
  note: ''
  source_location: abstract
- metric: Mediation
  value: liking partially mediated detection → sharing
  note: ''
  source_location: abstract
moderators:
- Plausibility (technical realism, stance congruence)
- Media literacy
- Attitude toward the speaker
- Topic
limitations:
- Values not checked against full text
- Detection rates not reported in abstract
verification:
  status: verified-abstract
  confidence: medium
  checked: 2026-10-18
  via: OpenAlex abstract record for doi:10.1057/s41599-026-09122-7
url: null
pmid: null
pmcid: null
arxiv_id: null
openalex_id: null
oa_url: null
cited_in:
- MR-0001
updated: '2026-10-18'
---

# How deepfake plausibility, media literacy, and personal attitudes shape detection, liking, and intentions to share political deepfakes on social media

> **Source record** `plohl-2026-political-deepfakes-plausibility` · 2026 · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications  
> **Evidence tier:** B (peer-reviewed-journal) · **Verification:** verified-abstract (compiler confidence: medium)  
> **Bottom line:** High-plausibility political deepfakes were detected less often and liked more; higher media literacy predicted better detection, less liking and lower sharing intention; favourable attitudes to the depicted person raised liking and sharing.

## Citation {#citation}

Nejc Plohl, Izidor Mlakar, Letizia Aquilino, Michele Brienza, Piercosma Bisconti, Urška Smrke (2026). How deepfake plausibility, media literacy, and personal attitudes shape detection, liking, and intentions to share political deepfakes on social media. *Humanities and Social Sciences Communications*. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-09122-7

Verification entry (identifiers, resolvers, claims with source locations): [/data/citations.json#plohl-2026-political-deepfakes-plausibility](/data/citations.json#plohl-2026-political-deepfakes-plausibility)

## Study design {#design}

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Design | Online experiment in three countries; participants watched manipulated political videos (climate change, immigration) varying in plausibility (technical realism and fit with the speaker's known stance); outcomes: detection, liking, sharing intention |
| Modality | video, audiovisual |
| Stimuli | Political deepfake videos on climate change and immigration, high vs low plausibility |
| Participants (N) | 1124 |
| N detail | UK, Slovenia and Italy |
| Topics | human-detection, political-deepfakes, media-literacy, sharing |

## Results {#results}

| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Plausibility → detection | high-plausibility deepfakes less likely to be detected | no values in abstract |
| Plausibility → liking / sharing | more liking; no significant effect on sharing intention |  |
| Media literacy | better detection, less liking, lower sharing intention | strong predictor across outcomes |
| Attitude toward depicted person | more positive → more liking and sharing intention |  |
| Mediation | liking partially mediated detection → sharing |  |

## Moderators {#moderators}

- Plausibility (technical realism, stance congruence)
- Media literacy
- Attitude toward the speaker
- Topic

## Limitations {#limitations}

- Values not checked against full text
- Detection rates not reported in abstract

## Cited in {#cited-in}

- [MR-0001](/metareports/human-detection-accuracy.md): Human Detection of Deepfakes: Accuracy, Bias, Confidence, and Training

## Verification {#verification}

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Status | `verified-abstract` |
| Compiler confidence | medium |
| Checked on | 2026-10-18 |
| Via | OpenAlex abstract record for doi:10.1057/s41599-026-09122-7 |

Values on this page have not all been checked against the full text. Confirm them against the primary source before high-stakes use.