Indo-Pacific Analysis Brief Vol 65
AI, democracy, and the new synthetic media environment
October 2026
By Aaron Brown & Jisoo Kim
The spread of AI-generated media poses new challenges to democracies, as citizens struggle to differentiate authentic media from AI-generated information and our online world is increasingly shaped by machines. Already, regional actors are taking advantage – spreading false images to exploit political divisions for profit, influence elections, and manipulate public opinion.
As AI makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish fact from fabrication, how will synthetic information reshape democratic resilience, and what can Australia do to respond?
‘AI-generated content can circulate faster than governments, media and intelligence analysts can verify and authenticate the facts. For policy makers, media, and the general public alike, the challenge is no longer simply access to information, but confidence in its authenticity.’
Key Messages
↗ The spread of AI-generated media has posed new challenges to democracies, as citizens lose the ability to differentiate between AI-generated and authentic media.
↗ In November 2024, AI-generated content overtook human-generated content online, marking a shift to a media environment that is predominantly synthetic.
↗ Indo-Pacific actors are using synthetic disinformation to disrupt political fault lines for profit, influence elections, and manipulate public opinion.
↗ Pairing synthetic media transparency methods with Australia’s proposed algorithm-choice legislation could allow platforms to separate AI-generated content from authenticated content.
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Indo-Pacific Analysis Briefs
The Indo-Pacific Analysis Briefs deliver concise, timely insights on critical regional developments. Drawing on perspectives from leading analysts in Asia, Australia and the United States, this series examines emerging issues shaping national and Indo-Pacific policy.