Nostalgic appeal in prosocial deepfakes of deceased and living artists

Effects on emotional engagement and credibility

Bibliographic Data

ID21452011
AuthorsMaría T Soto-Sanfiel (0000-0002-1364-8821, National University of Singapore, corresponding author), Syed Atiq Hussain (0000-0002-2704-4551, University of Sharjah), S E Hussain (University of Sharjah), Sanjay Saha (0009-0003-5386-0768, National University of Singapore)
Year2026
Pages1-23
Publication date2026-03-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBehaviour and Information Technology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-929X • E-ISSN: 1362-3001
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0144929x.2026.2641599
OpenAlexW7134952765
LanguageEN
References cited80

Deepfakes of deceased individuals have recently been explored as a means for conveying prosocial messages. This exploratory study examines how nostalgia influences the perceived credibility of such content, focusing on two psychological mechanisms of narrative persuasion: narrative transportation and character identification. A between-subjects experiment (n = 843) used deepfakes of either Elvis Presley or Robert Downey Jr. (nostalgic vs. non-nostalgic) promoting a healthy balance between social media use and real-life engagement. Results indicate that nostalgia significantly enhances emotional engagement and mediates its effect on credibility through both transportation and identification. Negative emotions interact with nostalgia to influence message credibility across all conditions. These findings show the bittersweet interplay of nostalgia-tinged deepfake messages and their persuasiveness, and particularly perceived credibility, providing valuable insights for academia and the audiovisual industry regarding the production and processing of resurrection deepfakes.Lay Summary This study explores how nostalgia affects the credibility of deepfakes featuring deceased individuals, specifically when used to promote positive behaviors. 843 participants were shown either a nostalgic or non-nostalgic deepfake of Elvis Presley or Robert Downey Jr., advocating for balanced social media use. The findings suggest that nostalgia enhances emotional engagement, making the message feel more credible. It also increases the audience’s narrative transportation and identification with the protagonist, the latter being the strongest predictor of credibility. Furthermore, nostalgia helps counteract possible negative emotions due to skepticism towards resurrection deepfakes. These insights are valuable for both researchers and media creators interested in the ethical and persuasive implications of deepfake technology

Affect (linguistics) · Appeal · Appeal to emotion · Credibility · Prosocial behavior · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Media Influence and Health · Nostalgia and Consumer Behavior