Deep fakes are no longer fiction: The new frontline in protecting brand trust
Patrice Pandeleos, managing director of Seven Communications, explains why deep fakes aren’t so fake anymore – and how they can do real damage.
Last week, the NSW Government introduced landmark legislation to criminalise sexually explicit deepfakes – a clear signal that manipulated media is no longer a fringe issue, but a front-and-centre societal threat. The move marks one of the toughest stances yet by lawmakers, and should be a wake-up call for brands: if the law is adapting to the threat, your crisis response strategy should be too.
If your team isn’t ready for manipulated media, you’re putting your brand’s reputation in the firing line. Deepfakes aren’t some sci-fi menace parked on a distant horizon anymore – they’re here, they’re multiplying, and they move faster than the truth can catch them
This threat isn’t just theoretical – it’s now shaping law. The government’s decisive action is a rare and urgent admission: deepfakes are real, dangerous, and intolerable. Brands should take exactly the same view, because hesitation in this fight isn’t measured in minutes; it’s measured in the distance between survival and collapse.
