Deepfakes and the Crisis of Digital Trust

Deepfake technology, enabled by advances in artificial intelligence (AI), presents a serious challenge to digital trust, democratic integrity, privacy, and individual dignity. While deepfakes have intensified misinformation and deception, public discourse often conflates these harms with the intrinsic nature of AI itself. This article argues that deepfakes represent a failure of governance and accountability rather than an inherent defect in artificial intelligence. Drawing upon Indian constitutional law, statutory frameworks, and comparative international jurisprudence, the article examines the legal and ethical risks posed by deepfakes, addresses prominent counter-arguments advocating technological prohibition, and proposes a calibrated, rights-based regulatory framework that balances innovation with harm prevention.