Deepfakes terror videos have created a new mode of indirect exposure to terrorism that differs from both first-hand victimisation and conventional media consumption of political violence. Such fabricated content has the capacity to evoke fear, anger, and heightened perceptions of threat, but political science has yet to systematically examine how these encounters influence public attitudes toward state intervention in digital spaces. This paper investigates how exposure to AI-driven indirect terrorism may shape support for cyber governance in democratic settings.

The study proposes a two-country survey experiment to be conducted in Israel and India, two democracies with recent experiences of terrorism but distinct media ecologies. The survey in Israel will be fielded in the context of post–7 October political communication, while the survey in India will be conducted following recent terror incidents in Kashmir and Delhi. In both settings, respondents will be randomly assigned to view either verified news footage or deepfake depictions resembling real attacks. The design will measure emotional responses (fear and anger), perceived authenticity, and support for policies relating to cybersecurity, platform accountability, and state regulation of online content.

By situating these questions within contemporary debates on the Digital Services Act, the EU AI Act, and European counter-terrorism frameworks, the paper highlights how democratic consent for cyber regulation may be shaped not by factual threat but by convincing digital simulation. This has implications for cognitive security, democratic resilience, and evolving counter-terror strategies in the age of AI-media.