The Search for Truth in an Era of Deepfakes - The Impact of Deepfakes on Trust in User-Generated Evidence in Accountability Processes for Human Rights Violations in Europe

Abstract

Over the past decade, domestic and international courts have increasingly relied on user-generated evidence (‘UGE’, meaning information captured by an ordinary user on their personal device that might be used in legal adjudication) to prosecute mass atrocities. Courts in Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands have shown a particular willingness to rely on UGE in trials concerning international crimes. At the same time, the rapid proliferation of deepfakes (hyper-realistic images, videos, or audio recordings created using Artificial Intelligence) has raised concerns that deepfake allegations and narratives of mistrust could lead to the erosion of trust in all UGE. This thesis breaks new ground by providing the first in-depth, systematic study of the impact of deepfakes on legal systems trying international crimes and by advancing practical recommendations to preserve trust in UGE. Using sociotechnical resilience as a theoretical framework, the thesis examines the current and likely future impact of deepfakes on domestic mass atrocity trials. The thesis offers a thorough examination of 45 domestic cases addressing international crimes featuring UGE that were adjudicated from 2015 to 2025, as well as interviews with legal officers, academics, open-source investigators, and judges. It explores to what extent allegations of deepfakes, and narratives of evidentiary mistrust have appeared in and shaped mass atrocity trials and assesses the resilience of justice systems to these risks in the future. The thesis finds that, contrary to prevailing concerns, deepfake allegations were not raised in any of the domestic cases analysed. Nevertheless, the proliferation of deepfakes is already profoundly affecting the conduct of investigations and prosecutions, and legal practitioners are very aware of the risks deepfakes pose. Domestic courts have shown a high level of resilience when faced with allegations of manipulation, relying on corroborating evidence, expert witness testimony, and requiring thorough authentication processes to ensure evidence is authentic.