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Paper Type
Complete
Abstract
Synthetic media disrupts established cues that individuals rely on to assess information credibility. When realistic images, videos, or texts can be generated without corresponding real-world events, determining whether evidence originates from credible sources becomes increasingly difficult. This study investigates how participants drew on perceptual, contextual, and social cues to evaluate credibility under conditions of uncertainty. Fifteen college students were recruited to evaluate which informational cues are most difficult to manipulate during synthetic media detection tasks. Findings show that participants tend to rely on perceptual inspection, contextual plausibility reasoning, and socially distributed interpretation. Extending warranting theory, the results demonstrate that credibility judgments hinge on perceived manipulability: cues viewed as difficult to control are considered more trustworthy. Participants frequently distrust platform-generated AI labels, whereas they treat collective user comments as more reliable. Overall, synthetic media shifts credibility assessment from judging content’s veracity to evaluating how evidence is socially warranted.
Paper Number
1595
Recommended Citation
Liu, Yue; Seo, Jiwoo; and Ho, Shuyuan Mary, "Information Credibility: Evidence Warranted in Synthetic Media Environments" (2026). AMCIS 2026 Proceedings. 4.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2026/ai_aiaa/ai_aiaa/4
Information Credibility: Evidence Warranted in Synthetic Media Environments
Synthetic media disrupts established cues that individuals rely on to assess information credibility. When realistic images, videos, or texts can be generated without corresponding real-world events, determining whether evidence originates from credible sources becomes increasingly difficult. This study investigates how participants drew on perceptual, contextual, and social cues to evaluate credibility under conditions of uncertainty. Fifteen college students were recruited to evaluate which informational cues are most difficult to manipulate during synthetic media detection tasks. Findings show that participants tend to rely on perceptual inspection, contextual plausibility reasoning, and socially distributed interpretation. Extending warranting theory, the results demonstrate that credibility judgments hinge on perceived manipulability: cues viewed as difficult to control are considered more trustworthy. Participants frequently distrust platform-generated AI labels, whereas they treat collective user comments as more reliable. Overall, synthetic media shifts credibility assessment from judging content’s veracity to evaluating how evidence is socially warranted.
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