Can You Still Trust What You See Online? AI vs Reality (By the Numbers)

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Sun, 22 Mar 2026 14:22:12 +0000
Newsroom

The internet used to be simple: seeing was believing. A photo proved it happened. A video confirmed the truth. But in 2026, that assumption is collapsing fast. With AI-generated images, voices, and videos becoming nearly indistinguishable from reality, we’re entering a world where evidence can be manufactured on demand.

This isn’t just a tech story — it’s a trust crisis. Governments, businesses, and everyday users are all asking the same question: If everything can be faked… how do we know what’s real? Let’s break it down using actual data — not opinions.

The Collapse of Digital Trust - The numbers show a dramatic shift in how people view online content:

85% of Americans say deepfakes have damaged trust in online information

69% of global users report increased skepticism toward digital content

Only 36% of people say they trust online news at all

These figures point to a fundamental change:
Trust is no longer the default — skepticism is. What used to be a credibility advantage (photos, videos, viral posts) is now a liability. The more “perfect” something looks… the more people question it.

Trust vs Skepticism Online: Recent data shows a sharp decline in trust across the internet, with 85% of people saying deepfakes have reduced their trust in online content, while 69% report becoming more skeptical overall. At the same time, only 36% of users say they still trust online news, highlighting a growing gap between what people see and what they believe.

This gap between skepticism and trust is what researchers now call the “digital trust deficit.”

AI Content Is Exploding (Faster Than Detection): The scale of AI-generated content is growing at a rate most people underestimate: Deepfake videos increased from ~500,000 to over 8 million in just 2 years. AI-generated images now number in the billions daily across platforms. Deepfake-related fraud attempts surged over 3,000% in a single year.

At the same time, human detection is weak: People correctly identify deepfakes only about 24–25% of the time.
Translation: Most people are confidently wrong when judging what’s real.

The Financial Impact Is Already Massive - This isn’t just a media problem — it’s an economic one:

Fake content and misinformation cost the global economy ~$78 billion annually

AI-powered scams are projected to reach $40 billion in losses by 2027

A single deepfake impersonation scam has already resulted in a $25 million transfer

Companies are now investing heavily in verification systems, because: One fake video can move markets, damage brands, or trigger panic. The Psychological Shift: From Trust → Doubt. The deeper impact is happening in human behavior:

~70%+ of people say they struggle to tell real vs AI content

Only ~30% feel confident identifying AI-generated media

A majority expect the problem to get worse, not better

This creates a dangerous paradox: Even real content starts getting dismissed as fake. This phenomenon — sometimes called the “liar’s dividend” — allows bad actors to deny real evidence by simply claiming it’s AI-generated.

Here’s where things get complicated: AI is both:

The biggest threat to truth

And the best tool to verify it

Detection systems, watermarking, and AI verification tools are improving — but adoption is slow, and trust in tech companies is declining. So we end up in a loop:

We need AI to confirm reality…

But we’re not sure we trust AI either.

The Bigger Shift: From Attention Economy → Credibility Economy. For years, the internet rewarded attention — clicks, shares, virality. Now, we’re entering something new: A credibility economy… Where:

Sources matter more than speed

Proof matters more than popularity

Reputation becomes more valuable than reach

Platforms that can verify identity, sources, and authenticity will likely dominate the next era of the internet. Final take: We are no longer debating whether AI will change the internet —
it already has. The real question is what replaces trust when it disappears.

Will we build systems that verify truth? Or will we drift into a world where everything is doubted, and nothing is certain? Because once people stop believing what they see… The internet doesn’t just become noisy — it becomes unreliable by default.