Deepfake Society: 74% of Americans Can’t Tell What’s Real or Fake Online Anymore

Americans believe only 37 percent of the content they see on social media is “real,” or free of edits, filters, and Photoshop. Between AI and “deepfake” videos — a survey of 2,000 adults split evenly by generation reveals that almost three-quarters (74%) can’t even tell what’s real or fake anymore.

Americans are wary of both targeted ads (14%) and influencer content (18%), but a little more than half (52%) find themselves equally likely to question the legitimacy of either one. This goes beyond social media and what’s happening online. The survey finds that while 41 percent have more difficulty determining if an item they’re looking to purchase online is “real” or “a dupe,” another 36 percent find shopping in person to be just as challenging.

While the average respondent will spend about 15 minutes determining if an item is “real,” meaning a genuine model or a knockoff, millennials take it a step further and will spend upwards of 20 minutes trying to decide.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of De Beers Group, results reveal that Americans already own a plethora of both real and fake products.

Infographic on survey asking respondents whether they can the difference between real and fake — Of the respondents who own real items, most have clothing (55%) and shoes (52%). Others have handbags or wallets (46%), fine jewelry (37%), and makeup (33%). Millennials are the most likely generation to own genuine fashion accessories, like belts or jackets (37%) and furniture or decor (31%).

When it comes to those who own their share of dupes, clothing still ranked at the top (45%), but handbags and wallets slid into the second spot (38%), followed by shoes (35%) and fashion accessories (31%).

Though 47 percent admit they’ve purchased a fake item unknowingly, some respondents prefer that option. Those reasons include a lower price tag (54%), an almost identical look (38%), and not feeling the need to own the real item (27%).

“It’s important to note that 88% of respondents prefer to purchase items that they will get a lot of use out of,” says Sally Morrison, Director of PR for Natural Diamonds at De Beers Group, in a statement. “While for some, that means sporting designer items, but for others, that means opting for the piece that they don’t mind getting damaged or ruined. It’s clear that these things perceived as either real or dupes play very different roles in their lives.”

When asked to determine whether certain things were “real” or a “dupe,” respondents deemed GMO vegetables (35%) and cryptocurrency (42%) to be real. However, respondents dubbed lab-grown diamonds (41%), plastic surgery (52%), and Chatbots and AI (40%) fake.