Liar's dividend

The liar's dividend is a political and media phenomenon in which public figures falsely claim that factual reporting is missing information, "fake news," or artificially generated in order to avoid accountability for their action [1] This concept has been studied in political science to understand how such claims can allow politicians to maintain public support following scandals or controversial statements. This tactic leverages public uncertainty about the accuracy of information and can mobilize parties and supporters. It often takes advantage of emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI)–generated content and deepfakes, which makes distinguishing authentic from manipulated material more difficult.[2]

History

The rise of AI and deepfake technology has increased the ability to produce highly convincing, manipulated media, making it easier to mislead viewers. In September 2023, an audio clip of Michal Šimečka, a politician from the Progressive Slovakia party, circulated online, allegedly showing him discussing election manipulation with a journalist. A YouGov poll found that 85% of respondents were "very concerned" about the spread of misleading deepfakes. Deepfakes of U.S. presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump have also been widely circulated [3] The "liar's dividend" has also been discussed in The New York Times in connection with AI-generated videos during the 2026 Iran war; the proliferation of such videos has led to the erroneous identification of real videos, such as one from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as fake.[4]

The term "liar's dividend" was coined by legal scholars Bobby Chesney and Danielle Citron to describe the phenomenon in which the existence of real deepfakes can make people skeptical of genuine information [5]

Examples

Not all examples of the liar's dividend are political. Many incidents involving incriminating footage of civilians have been dismissed as AI-generated.

  • Tesla lawyers argued that Elon Musk's past statements about the safety of self-driving cars could not be used in court because they were alleged deepfakes (Thornhill, 2021).
  • In the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol riots, Guy Reffitt was charged with bringing a handgun to the Capitol building. His lawyer argued that evidence against him might be AI-generated, reflecting the use of the liar's dividend in legal contexts [6]

References

  1. ^ Schiff, Kaylyn Jackson; Schiff, Daniel S.; Bueno, Natalia (2023-08-10). "The Liar's Dividend: Can Politicians Claim Misinformation to Evade Accountability?". doi.org. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  2. ^ Thornhill, John (29 July 2021). "Deepfakes threaten to inflate the "Liar's Dividend". Financial Times".
  3. ^ Beaumont, Adrian (2025-04-10). "Labor gains 5-point lead in a YouGov poll, taken during Trump tariff chaos". doi.org. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  4. ^ Thompson, Stuart A.; Hsu, Tiffany (2026-03-17). "Netanyahu Posts 'Proof of Life' Video as A.I. Sows Doubts About What's Real". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-17. The phenomenon, known as the liar's dividend, has come to the fore during the war in Iran.
  5. ^ Chesney, Robert; Citron, Danielle Keats (2018). "Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge for Privacy, Democracy, and National Security". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3213954. ISSN 1556-5068.
  6. ^ Reffitt, Deepfake (March 8, 2023). "In the first Jan. 6 trial, a jury found Capitol riot defendant Guy Reffitt guilty".
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