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 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)âÂÂgenerated content and deepfakes, which makes distinguishing authentic from manipulated material more difficult.
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 à  imeÃÂka, 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 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.
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
Not all examples of the liar's dividend are political. Many incidents involving incriminating footage of civilians have been dismissed as AI-generated.