Deepfakes refer to synthetic media, primarily images, videos, and audio, that are manipulated using advanced artificial intelligence (ai) techniques to create highly realistic, yet fabricated, content. Deepfakes (a portmanteau of ' deep learning ' and 'fake'[1]) are images, videos, or audio that have been edited or generated using artificial intelligence, ai-based tools or audio-video editing software. Deepfakes, in essence, are synthetic media (typically video or audio) created by ai models to mimic real people’s faces, voices, or movements with eerie realism.