Project – Synthetic Media, Deepfake News and Audience Trust in Political Broadcast Journalism. A Study of News audiences in Kano metropolis.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Political broadcast journalism plays an important role in democratic societies by providing information about government activities, political parties, elections, public policies, and the conduct of political officeholders. Through television, radio, and their associated digital platforms, broadcast journalists help citizens understand political developments, evaluate competing claims, and participate in public debate. The credibility of political journalism therefore depends substantially on the accuracy of reporting, the verification of evidence, the transparency of journalistic practices, and the confidence audiences place in media institutions. However, developments in digital technology have changed how political information is produced, edited, distributed, and consumed. Audiences increasingly encounter broadcast reports alongside short video clips, audio recordings, reposted news segments, and user-generated content circulated through social media and messaging platforms. This environment creates opportunities for faster information sharing but also makes it easier for misleading content to circulate outside the original context in which it was produced. Wardle and Derakhshan (2017) explain that contemporary information disorder includes different forms of false, misleading, and harmful information whose production and circulation may involve distinct motives and actors. The emergence of synthetic media adds another dimension to this challenge because audio, images, and videos can now be generated or manipulated to portray events and statements that never occurred. Chesney and Citron (2019) argue that deepfake technology creates serious challenges for privacy, reputation, security, and democratic institutions. Consequently, examining synthetic media and audience trust has become increasingly important to understanding the credibility of political broadcast journalism.

Synthetic media refers to audio, images, videos, and other digital content that are generated or substantially altered using computational techniques, including artificial intelligence. Deepfakes are a particularly significant category of synthetic media because they can use machine-learning techniques to manipulate a person’s face, voice, expressions, or speech in ways that make fabricated material appear authentic. In political communication, such content may depict politicians making statements they never made, appearing at events they never attended, or expressing positions that differ from their actual views. Deepfake news, as used in this study, refers to false or misleading news-related content that uses deepfake or comparable synthetic audio-visual material to create or reinforce an inaccurate political narrative. Not all synthetic media is deceptive, since some applications may be legitimate when clearly disclosed and used responsibly. The principal concern is the deceptive presentation of fabricated material as genuine political evidence. Chesney and Citron (2019) explain that deepfakes create risks extending beyond individual deception because they can undermine public confidence in audiovisual evidence and facilitate manipulation. Vaccari and Chadwick (2020), in an experimental study of political deepfakes involving 2,005 participants in the United Kingdom, found that exposure to deceptive synthetic political video could increase uncertainty about whether content was genuine, with this uncertainty associated with reduced trust in news on social media. Their findings suggest that the consequences of deepfake news may include not only false belief but also greater difficulty determining what information deserves confidence.

Audience trust refers to the confidence that news consumers place in the accuracy, fairness, credibility, and professional reliability of the news and media organisations they use. In political broadcast journalism, trust is particularly important because audiences often depend on journalists to verify claims, authenticate recordings, and distinguish factual reporting from political propaganda. Synthetic media may challenge this relationship by making fabricated audio-visual material appear convincing or by creating uncertainty about the authenticity of genuine recordings. Even when audiences do not accept a deepfake as true, uncertainty about its authenticity may weaken their confidence in the broader news environment. Vaccari and Chadwick (2020) demonstrate this possibility by showing that political deepfakes can generate uncertainty that is associated with reduced trust in news shared through social media. Chesney and Citron (2019) similarly explain that deepfakes may be used to damage reputations, manipulate public opinion, and undermine confidence in authentic evidence. This problem is especially relevant when fabricated political content is circulated without its original source, verification details, or contextual explanation. A misleading recording may be attributed to a recognised broadcaster or presented as an authentic television report, thereby complicating the audience’s ability to determine whether the material has been verified. However, the relationship between synthetic media and trust is not necessarily uniform: some audiences may become more sceptical, others may continue trusting familiar broadcasters, and some may rely on political affiliations when judging disputed content. It is therefore important to investigate how news audiences interpret deepfake news and how these interpretations relate to their trust in political broadcast journalism.

The growth of synthetic media creates additional demands for political broadcast journalists, whose professional responsibilities include checking the authenticity of recordings, confirming sources, verifying quotations, and providing accurate context before publishing or broadcasting political information. Traditionally, video and audio recordings have often been treated by audiences as persuasive evidence of what a person said or did. Deepfake technology complicates this assumption because realistic audiovisual material can be manipulated to misrepresent individuals and events. Consequently, broadcast journalists may need to combine conventional reporting practices with digital verification techniques, including examination of original files, confirmation through independent sources, consultation with relevant parties, and assessment of inconsistencies in the material. Wardle and Derakhshan (2017) emphasise the importance of understanding how misleading information is created, manipulated, and distributed across the information environment. Vaccari and Chadwick (2020) further demonstrate that deceptive political video can generate uncertainty even when its persuasive effect is not straightforward. These findings underline the importance of transparent verification and timely correction when suspicious content enters political reporting. If a broadcaster inadvertently airs a fabricated recording, audiences may question its professional competence; if genuine material is dismissed as fake without adequate evidence, trust may also be damaged. Synthetic media therefore presents a dual challenge: journalists must avoid amplifying deceptive content while maintaining the credibility of legitimate reporting. Investigating audience trust in this environment can help explain how the public evaluates broadcasters’ efforts to authenticate and contextualise political information.

Audience responses to deepfake news are shaped not only by the technical quality of synthetic media but also by prior beliefs, political loyalties, media literacy, and the circumstances in which content is encountered. Political information is rarely interpreted in a social vacuum; audiences may evaluate a disputed recording according to whether it supports or contradicts their existing views about a politician, party, or government. This means that the same synthetic video may be rejected by one audience member, accepted by another, or shared by someone who remains uncertain about its authenticity. Tandoc, Lim, and Ling (2018), in their review of the literature on fake news, demonstrate that the term encompasses different forms of information and practices that can resemble journalism while departing from its standards of accuracy and verification. Wardle and Derakhshan (2017) also distinguish between misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, highlighting the importance of considering both the nature of the content and the intentions behind its circulation. These distinctions are relevant to deepfake news because not every inaccurate video is deliberately fabricated, and not every use of synthetic media is intended to deceive. Media literacy may help audiences recognise suspicious claims, seek corroboration, and consult reliable news sources before accepting or sharing political content. Nevertheless, the ability to recognise manipulated content cannot be assumed simply because a person uses digital media frequently. Understanding the relationship between political attitudes, verification behaviour, media literacy, and trust is therefore important when examining audience responses to synthetic media.

Nigeria’s media environment includes public and private television and radio broadcasters, digital news organisations, and social media channels through which political information is produced and redistributed. Political broadcast journalism remains important for informing citizens about elections, public policy, governance, party activities, and political controversies. At the same time, the circulation of political information across multiple platforms can make it difficult for audiences to distinguish original reporting from edited clips, misleading captions, impersonation, and fabricated recordings. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s Digital News Report 2024 documents the growing importance of digital and social media in Nigeria’s news environment while noting continuing relevance of traditional media and concerns about misinformation and media credibility. Wardle and Derakhshan (2017) explain that information disorder can spread through complex networks of producers, distributors, and audiences, meaning that misleading material may travel far beyond its original source. Chesney and Citron (2019) identify deepfakes as a potential threat to democratic communication because synthetic content can be deployed to manipulate political perceptions and undermine trust in authentic evidence. In Nigeria, these issues warrant attention because political reporting can influence public understanding of candidates, public officials, and contentious policy matters. However, national observations about digital news consumption do not establish how particular audiences respond to deepfake news or how much trust they place in political broadcast journalism. Such questions require investigation among defined audience populations and within their specific media-use contexts.

Kano metropolis is an important setting for examining the relationship between synthetic media, deepfake news, and audience trust in political broadcast journalism. News audiences in the metropolis may encounter political information through television, radio, online news platforms, social media, and messaging applications, with content frequently moving between these channels. Such circulation may expose audiences to authentic broadcasts, excerpts removed from their original context, digitally manipulated recordings, and claims about politicians whose authenticity is difficult to establish without verification. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2024) documents the coexistence of traditional and digital news consumption in Nigeria, while Vaccari and Chadwick (2020) provide experimental evidence that political deepfakes can create uncertainty and reduce trust in news on social media. These findings provide a basis for examining the issue, but they do not establish the experiences or attitudes of news audiences in Kano metropolis. Differences in preferred broadcasters, political interests, media literacy, language use, digital access, and verification practices may influence how residents interpret suspicious political content. It is therefore necessary to investigate the extent to which news audiences in Kano metropolis encounter or recognise deepfake news, how they assess the authenticity of political broadcast material, and whether their experiences relate to trust in political broadcast journalism. Evidence from this study may help broadcasters, journalists, media-literacy educators, and other stakeholders strengthen audience awareness and develop more effective approaches to verification and transparent political reporting.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The growing ability to generate realistic synthetic audio and video presents a challenge to the authenticity of political news distributed through broadcast and digital platforms. News audiences may encounter recordings that appear to show politicians making controversial statements or engaging in activities that never occurred. When such material is circulated without adequate verification, it can distort public understanding and create misleading impressions about political actors and events. Chesney and Citron (2019) explain that deepfakes can be used to manipulate public opinion and undermine confidence in authentic audiovisual evidence. Wardle and Derakhshan (2017) similarly demonstrate that information disorder involves multiple forms of misleading content and complex processes of production and distribution. The problem is that audiences may not always have access to the original recording, sufficient contextual information, or the technical knowledge needed to distinguish authentic material from sophisticated manipulation. This creates uncertainty about what can reasonably be accepted as credible political evidence and increases the importance of professional verification by broadcast journalists. However, the extent to which this challenge affects news audiences in Kano metropolis has not been established by the literature reviewed for this study, creating a need for context-specific investigation.

A second problem concerns the possible effect of deepfake news on audience trust in political broadcast journalism. Trust is essential to the relationship between broadcasters and their audiences because citizens depend on news organisations to provide accurate, balanced, and verified information about political events. When audiences encounter convincing but fabricated political recordings, they may become uncertain about the authenticity of news content or question whether broadcasters can reliably distinguish genuine material from manipulation. Vaccari and Chadwick (2020) found that exposure to political deepfakes could increase uncertainty and that such uncertainty was associated with reduced trust in news on social media. Chesney and Citron (2019) also warn that deepfakes can undermine the credibility of institutions and weaken confidence in authentic evidence. Nevertheless, these findings do not mean that every audience exposed to synthetic media will lose trust in established broadcasters. Some people may rely on familiar news organisations for verification, while others may become more distrustful of political reporting generally. The unresolved issue is how news audiences in Kano metropolis perceive the credibility of political broadcast journalism in the presence of deepfake news and whether their exposure to or concern about synthetic media is associated with changes in their trust.

A further problem is that news audiences may find it difficult to verify political audio-visual content circulating across television, social media, and messaging platforms. A recording may be edited, presented without its original context, or accompanied by misleading claims about the identity of the speaker and the circumstances in which it was produced. In addition, a genuine recording may be falsely labelled as a deepfake, allowing political actors or their supporters to dismiss authentic evidence without adequate justification. Tandoc et al. (2018) show that fake news takes different forms and can imitate journalistic content, while Wardle and Derakhshan (2017) emphasise the importance of distinguishing among different forms of information disorder. These challenges suggest that audience trust may depend partly on the availability of corroborating information, confidence in the broadcaster’s verification practices, and the ability to assess the authenticity of disputed material. However, it remains necessary to establish how audiences in Kano metropolis respond to questionable political recordings, which sources they consult for confirmation, and how their verification practices relate to their trust in political broadcast journalism. Without this evidence, media organisations and public educators may struggle to identify the specific audience needs that should guide media-literacy and anti-disinformation initiatives.

Although existing research has examined the nature of deepfakes, the circulation of disinformation, and the relationship between synthetic political video and news trust, the findings do not automatically explain audience responses in Kano metropolis. Chesney and Citron (2019) provide a broad analysis of deepfake threats, while Vaccari and Chadwick (2020) demonstrate the relationship between exposure to deceptive political video, uncertainty, and trust in news on social media in a United Kingdom experimental setting. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2024) provides relevant context on Nigeria’s changing news environment, but national-level evidence does not establish how audiences in a particular metropolitan area interpret deepfake news or evaluate political broadcast journalism. The specific problem addressed by this study is the need for local empirical evidence concerning audience awareness of synthetic media, exposure to deepfake news, verification behaviour, and trust in political broadcast journalism in Kano metropolis. Without such evidence, broadcasters and other stakeholders may lack a clear understanding of the audience concerns and verification practices that require attention. This study therefore seeks to examine synthetic media, deepfake news, and audience trust in political broadcast journalism among news audiences in Kano metropolis.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to examine synthetic media, deepfake news, and audience trust in political broadcast journalism among news audiences in Kano metropolis.

The specific objectives are to:

1. Examine the level of awareness and exposure to synthetic media and deepfake news among news audiences in Kano metropolis.

2. Determine the relationship between exposure to deepfake news and audience trust in political broadcast journalism in Kano metropolis.

3. Assess the influence of audience verification practices and perceived authenticity of political broadcast content on trust in political broadcast journalism.

4. Examine the relationship between audience awareness of synthetic media and their confidence in the credibility of political broadcast journalists and media organisations in Kano metropolis.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions will guide the study:

1. What is the level of awareness and exposure to synthetic media and deepfake news among news audiences in Kano metropolis?

2. What relationship exists between exposure to deepfake news and audience trust in political broadcast journalism in Kano metropolis?

3. How do audience verification practices and perceptions of the authenticity of political broadcast content relate to trust in political broadcast journalism?

4. What relationship exists between audience awareness of synthetic media and confidence in the credibility of political broadcast journalists and media organisations in Kano metropolis?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

The following null hypothesis will be tested at the 0.05 level of significance.

H₀: There is no statistically significant relationship between exposure to deepfake news and audience trust in political broadcast journalism among news audiences in Kano metropolis.

The hypothesis will be tested using an appropriate statistical technique based on the research design, the measurement of exposure and trust, and the characteristics of the data collected.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study are expected to be beneficial to news audiences, broadcast journalists, media organisations, media-literacy educators, policymakers, and future researchers.

1.6.1 News Audiences

The study may help news audiences understand the nature of synthetic media and the potential risks associated with deepfake news. It may encourage audiences to verify suspicious political recordings, consult multiple credible sources, and avoid sharing unverified material. The findings may also promote a more informed approach to assessing the credibility of political broadcast journalism without automatically accepting or rejecting content based solely on its appearance.

1.6.2 Broadcast Journalists

The study may provide broadcast journalists with insights into how audiences perceive political reporting in an environment where synthetic audio and video can be used deceptively. The findings may encourage stronger verification practices, transparent correction procedures, and clearer communication about the authentication of disputed recordings. They may also help journalists understand the importance of maintaining credibility when reporting on potentially manipulated political content.

1.6.3 Broadcast Media Organisations

Television and radio organisations may benefit from evidence concerning audience concerns about deepfake news and confidence in political reporting. The findings may inform newsroom policies on digital verification, editorial review, source authentication, and the disclosure of synthetic material when it is used legitimately. Media organisations may also use the findings to strengthen audience engagement and protect their reputations for accuracy and professionalism.

1.6.4 Media-Literacy Educators

The study may provide useful information for organisations and educators involved in media literacy, digital citizenship, and public information awareness. Its findings may help them develop educational programmes that teach audiences how to recognise suspicious audiovisual content, examine the origins of political claims, and distinguish authentic reporting from manipulated material.

1.6.5 Policymakers and Media Regulators

The findings may contribute to policy discussions concerning synthetic media, political misinformation, broadcast standards, and public access to reliable information. They may assist relevant stakeholders in considering appropriate measures for promoting transparency, encouraging responsible content distribution, and protecting freedom of expression while addressing deceptive uses of synthetic media.

1.6.6 Future Researchers

The study may provide a reference for future research on deepfakes, political communication, audience credibility judgments, media trust, and misinformation in Nigeria. It may also support comparative studies across different cities, broadcast organisations, demographic groups, and election periods.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study will focus on synthetic media, deepfake news, and audience trust in political broadcast journalism among news audiences in Kano metropolis, Kano State, Nigeria.

Geographical scope: The research will be conducted in Kano metropolis. The specific communities and areas included will be determined by the sampling procedure and the practical accessibility of eligible respondents.

Content scope: The study will examine awareness of synthetic media, exposure to deepfake news, audience verification practices, perceived authenticity of political audio-visual content, and trust in political broadcast journalism.

Synthetic media will be considered in relation to AI-generated or substantially manipulated audio and video. Deepfake news will refer to deceptive news-related content using such material to misrepresent political statements, events, or individuals. Audience trust will be examined in terms of perceived accuracy, credibility, fairness, and reliability of political broadcast journalists and their organisations.

Population scope: The study will involve news audiences in Kano metropolis who consume political information through television, radio, or associated digital broadcast platforms. The final sample size and demographic composition will be determined during the research design stage.

Methodological scope: The study may adopt a descriptive survey or correlational research design using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis may include frequencies, percentages, means, and appropriate inferential statistics for testing the stated hypothesis.

Where a cross-sectional survey design is adopted, the study will identify statistical relationships rather than conclusively establish that deepfake exposure causes changes in audience trust.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Synthetic Media: Digital audio, video, images, or other content generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence or other computational techniques.

Deepfake News: False or misleading news-related content that uses artificially generated or manipulated audio-visual material to misrepresent political statements, events, or individuals.

Audience Trust: The degree of confidence news audiences place in the accuracy, credibility, fairness, and reliability of political broadcast journalism.

Political Broadcast Journalism: The production and dissemination of news and current-affairs reports concerning political parties, elections, government activities, public policies, political officeholders, and related matters through radio, television, and associated broadcast platforms.

News Audiences: Individuals in Kano metropolis who receive or consume news through broadcast media and related digital platforms.

Perceived Authenticity: The extent to which audiences believe that a political audio or video recording represents a genuine person, statement, or event rather than fabricated or manipulated content.

Verification Practices: The actions audiences take to establish the authenticity and accuracy of political information, such as consulting trusted broadcasters, checking original sources, comparing independent reports, and seeking confirmation from credible fact-checkers.

Media Credibility: The perceived trustworthiness, accuracy, fairness, and professional reliability of a media organisation or journalist.

Political Disinformation: False or misleading political information created or circulated with the intention of deceiving audiences or influencing political perceptions and behaviour.

Influence: The measurable relationship between deepfake exposure, audience awareness, verification practices, and trust in political broadcast journalism. The extent to which a causal interpretation is justified will depend on the research design.

Project – Synthetic Media, Deepfake News and Audience Trust in Political Broadcast Journalism. A Study of News audiences in Kano metropolis.