Who falls for political deepfakes? National study seeks to find and protect most vulnerable

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enabled the mass creation of these videos that are at the leading edge of video-based disinformation. As we've seen in the US elections, they have the potential to impact Australian electoral outcomes and political processes if left unchecked," she said.

The research will explore individual motivations and behaviours - down to heartrates and eye movement - to identify which sectors of the community are more likely to believe and share deepfake content.

"Sometimes people know they're fake but share them anyway, and that's something we need to better understand. We also want to know what motivates those who demonstrate pro-social behaviour, such as fact-checking and reporting these videos," Dr Barnes said.