Safeguarding Trust in the Age of Deepfakes

What Organizations Need To Know—and How They Can Prepare

Deepfakes are no longer just a technical curiosity, they are a fast-evolving risk reshaping how organizations must think about trust. The emergence of synthetic media, supported by continued advancement of models, marks a new frontier in risk for corporations, law firms, boards, and investors. Once a niche novelty, deepfakes now pose serious reputational, financial, and legal challenges. From manipulated videos fueling disinformation campaigns, to synthetic audio enabling high-stakes impersonation fraud, these threats are no longer theoretical. They are here, accelerating, and demanding proactive strategies.

For leadership, the question is no longer if synthetic media will impact their organization, but when and whether they are prepared to respond.

What Organizations Need To Consider

Synthetic media risks cut across the business and governance landscape:

Reputation and Crisis Exposure: How will you respond if a convincing manipulated video or audio clip about your organization surfaces online?
Fraud and Financial Risks: Could your executives or employees be impersonated to authorize fraudulent transactions or access sensitive data?
Governance, Training, and Board Oversight: Do your policies and escalation protocols account for synthetic media risks, including disclosure and reputational impacts?
Portfolio and Market Vulnerability: For private equity and investors, how would a deepfake-driven misinformation campaign affect valuation, market perception, or transaction timelines?

These are not just technical questions; they are organizational, legal, and reputational challenges that demand board-level attention.

How To Prepare: Building Resilience Against Synthetic Media

Organizations can strengthen resilience by taking a proactive, cross-functional approach:

Invest in Detection and Verification
Deploy forensic analysis and AI-based detection models to distinguish fact from fabrication. Build processes to authenticate critical digital content before acting on it.
Establish Monitoring and Early Warning Systems
Proactively monitor open web, dark web, and social channels for synthetic media threats. Early detection enables faster response and containment.
Strengthen Governance and Policy Frameworks
Update compliance, disclosure, and risk management protocols to reflect the realities of synthetic media. Boards should integrate these risks into enterprise risk frameworks.
Prepare a Communications Playbook
Develop rapid-response communications strategies grounded in evidence. Transparent, fact-based messaging helps preserve stakeholder trust during high-stakes incidents.

A Real-World Example

When a global corporation faced a sensitive investigation involving potentially manipulated video evidence, the stakes were significant—regulatory exposure, reputational damage, and the credibility of internal decision-making.

FTI Consulting was engaged to authenticate the content under pressing timelines. Our multidisciplinary team combined advanced AI-based detection techniques, metadata analysis, and frame-by-frame forensic review to deliver decisive results. The organization was able to brief its board, regulators, and stakeholders with confidence—preserving transparency, credibility, and trust.

Moving Forward

In the age of synthetic media, resilience depends on preparation. By asking the right questions now, strengthening detection capabilities, and aligning governance and communications strategies, organizations can best position themselves to safeguard reputation and maintain stakeholder confidence when—not if—these threats emerge.

FTI Consulting brings together comprehensive expertise in forensics, artificial intelligence, legal, governance, and strategic communications to help organizations detect, investigate, and respond to synthetic media threats. As trusted, vendor-neutral advisors, we work with boards, general counsel, compliance leaders, and investors to prepare organizations for a digital era where seeing is no longer believing.