2026/03/02 by Gina Junhan Fu, María T. Soto-Sanfiel, Sanjay Saha · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Narrative Theory and Analysis #Media Influence and Health #Digital Games and Media
paper · doi:10.1080/15205436.2026.2637155
openalex publication_date 2026/03/02 · openalex created_date 2026/03/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Amid escalating ethical concerns over the viral spread of deepfakes, existing literature suggests that their sensory richness and enhanced realism evoke complex, sometimes contradictory, audience reactions. This study examines the persuasive potential of deepfakes by comparing audience responses to identical resurrection narratives presented in deepfake video format versus text format. Participants (N = 813, Mage = 37.28, SDage = 12.46) were exposed to either a deepfake video or a text-based narrative featuring a historical scientist (Albert Einstein or Marie Curie) recounting their life story and then completed scales measuring variables related to narrative persuasion. Contrary to prevailing assumptions of audiovisual superiority, the results revealed that text narratives elicited significantly greater transportation than deepfake videos. Structural equation modeling showed that this effect extended to downstream persuasion outcomes, including perceived realism, message credibility and evaluation, character identification, enjoyment, and sharing intention. Significant indirect effects of modality emerged across all persuasion variables. Multigroup analysis demonstrated partial scalar invariance, with Einstein eliciting stronger identification and enjoyment than Curie. These findings suggest that deepfake resurrection narratives engage distinct psychological mechanisms that may disrupt the persuasive advantages typically attributed to visual imagery and to deepfakes in particular.