Crisis of Trust.
Media Ethics
in the Age of Deepfakes
Research
HSE SPB
2025
2025
Bondar Julia
Vinogradova Mariana
Eliseeva Olga
Okhray Victoria
Shipelsky Martin
Vinogradova Mariana
Eliseeva Olga
Okhray Victoria
Shipelsky Martin
Intro:
The Normative Gap and the ‘Inflationary’ Economy of Truth
The Normative Gap and the ‘Inflationary’ Economy of Truth
We live in an era where technology is developing exponentially, while ethical and legal norms are developing linearly. This Normative Gap between the speed of deepfake creation and the slow formation of rules of the game has presented journalism with an existential question.
Our project is not about the violation of rights (they are already protected by law), but about the destruction of the foundation on which a free society is based: trust. We analyse how the phenomenon of synthetic media affects public trust in information and journalism as a whole, creating an ‘inflation’ of truth.
Vol1:
What Are Deepfakes
and Why
Do Journalists
Need Them?
What Are Deepfakes
and Why
Do Journalists
Need Them?
Deepfake: ‘False Record of a Person’
The term deepfake refers to media content — images,
audio or video — created using deep learning technologies,
most often using generative adversarial networks (GANs).
These systems allow content to be generated or altered
with a high degree of realism, creating the impression that
a person said or did something that did not actually happen.
In essence, it is a false record of identity that perfectly
imitates reality.
The term deepfake refers to media content — images,
audio or video — created using deep learning technologies,
most often using generative adversarial networks (GANs).
These systems allow content to be generated or altered
with a high degree of realism, creating the impression that
a person said or did something that did not actually happen.
In essence, it is a false record of identity that perfectly
imitates reality.
Main Scenarios of Use
Initially, deepfakes were associated with disinformation and abuse. However, they are also used in journalism, which raises ethical debates:
/01
Reconstruction and Visualisation: Restoring the appearance of people who cannot be filmed for documentary films.
/02
Concealment of Identity (Ethical Camouflage): Altering the faces and voices of informants and witnesses who are in danger, without using traditional pixelation.
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How The Deception Works
*This person is AI generated
01
Doubt in Everything:
Any inconvenient fact can now be written off as "it was a deepfake". This makes people doubt everything, even absolutely real news.
Any inconvenient fact can now be written off as "it was a deepfake". This makes people doubt everything, even absolutely real news.
01
At the Johnathan Hay Centre, housing was designed to provide migrants from rural areas and laborers with living spaces tailored to their cultural needs.
02
Erosion of Professionalism:
A journalist is forced to spend resources on proof of authenticity instead of covering the event.
A journalist is forced to spend resources on proof of authenticity instead of covering the event.
03
Decrease in Trust
in the Media:
When the reader/viewer cannot distinguish the truth from the fiction, trust in the source of information rapidly falls.
in the Media:
When the reader/viewer cannot distinguish the truth from the fiction, trust in the source of information rapidly falls.
Vol3:
Real-World Examples and Consequences
Cases: From Politics
to Forensics
Real-World Examples and Consequences
Cases: From Politics
to Forensics
PRESS THE BUTTON
TO HEAR FAKE VOICE
TO HEAR FAKE VOICE
Innocent Denier:
Audio deepfakes imitating
the voices of businessmen were used for extortion. After these fakes are exposed, real but inconvenient recordings can
be dismissed under the pretext
of "just another fake."
Audio deepfakes imitating
the voices of businessmen were used for extortion. After these fakes are exposed, real but inconvenient recordings can
be dismissed under the pretext
of "just another fake."
CASE A
PRESS THE BUTTON
TO HEAR FAKE VOICE
TO HEAR FAKE VOICE
Campaign Use:
Creation of fake videos featuring competitors during election periods. A quick debunking does not erase the initial, destructive effect on voters.
Creation of fake videos featuring competitors during election periods. A quick debunking does not erase the initial, destructive effect on voters.
CASE B
Philosophical Aspect:
These cases demonstrate that while fact-checking can disprove a specific fake, it is powerless against the virus of distrust that the fake unleashes.
These cases demonstrate that while fact-checking can disprove a specific fake, it is powerless against the virus of distrust that the fake unleashes.
About Us
80+
Cities
900+
Total projects
2200+
Clients worldwide
2200+
Interviews
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Modernism was fueled by Louis Sullivan’s maxim "form follows function," a rallying cry for utility and simplicity. Yet it wasn’t absolute: Art Deco architects like Auguste Perret and Henri Sauvage mixed clean modern geometry with selective ornament, proving design can balance innovation and elegance. They let proportion, rhythm, and new materials—especially reinforced concrete—do the heavy lifting.
After the First World War, architecture as a conceptual field split. Many defended neo-classical and Beaux-Arts traditions, while others pushed for a radical break. Modernists—Le Corbusier and Robert Mallet-Stevens in France, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Germany, and Konstantin Melnikov in the Soviet Union—argued for clarity of form and the elimination of ornament.
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team
Daniel Kraus
Founder, CEO
HELEN BROOKS
Architect & Researcher
Daniel Kraus
Founder, CEO
HELEN BROOKS
Architect & Researcher
Daniel Kraus
Founder, CEO
HELEN BROOKS
Architect & Researcher
how it works
01 — Key Figures
India’s modernism was shaped by B. V. Doshi, Charles Correa, and Raj Rewal, each leaving a lasting imprint on its architectural identity.
02 — State Vision
In postcolonial India, modernism gained momentum with strong state support, particularly under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
03 — Global Recognition
Several modernist buildings and ensembles in India are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites, carrying the legacy forward beyond early Art Nouveau.
04 — Preservation Efforts
International organizations such as Docomomo International and the World Monuments Fund continue to promote and protect modernist architecture.
how it works
01 — Key Figures
India’s modernism was shaped by B. V. Doshi, Charles Correa, and Raj Rewal, each leaving a lasting imprint on its architectural identity.
02 — State Vision
In postcolonial India, modernism gained momentum with strong state support, particularly under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
03 — Global Recognition
Several modernist buildings and ensembles in India are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites, carrying the legacy forward beyond early Art Nouveau.
04 — Preservation Efforts
International organizations such as Docomomo International and the World Monuments Fund continue to promote and protect modernist architecture.
Get your book Get your book Get your book Get your book
Starter Plan
$120
A curated intro pack with selected modernist case studies. Ideal for students and newcomers.
Professional access
$180
Access to proprietary datasets, high-res visuals, and essays on modernist legacies—plus a short 1:1 online expert session.
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Research Plus
$350
Detailed reports and cross-country comparisons with archival references. Suited for deeper study.
Premium Collaboration
$120
Custom research and reporting, co-authored publications, and expert support—everything tailored to your brief.
INNOVATION
In 1923, Gropius set out his modernist vision in the essay The Idea and Construction, which became highly influential for the movement.
INNOVATION
In 1923, Gropius set out his modernist vision in the essay The Idea and Construction, which became highly influential for the movement.
Approach
He championed standardized design and advocated large-scale construction of functional apartment blocks for industrial workers.
FORMATION
By 1928, Siemens had commissioned him to design worker housing on Berlin’s outskirts
ACHIEVEMENTS ACHIEVEMENTS ACHIEVEMENTS ACHIEVEMENTS ACHIEVEMENTS ACHIEVEMENTS ACHIEVEMENTS
COMPETITION
While Gropius developed his ideas at the Bauhaus, Mies van der Roh emerged and soon became a central figure of modernism.
SUCCESS
He later became vice president of the German Werkbund and headed the Bauhaus between 1930 and 1932.
SUCCESS
He later became vice president of the German Werkbund and headed the Bauhaus between 1930 and 1932.
LEGACY
Influenced by the Dutch De Stijl group, he experimented with clusters of concrete summer houses and envisioned an early glass skyscraper
Gallery
02/09/2022
Vertex
12/11/2019
Monarch
12/04/2014
Aurora
11/05/2016
Axis
01/06/2017
Prisma
05/02/2020
Haven
10/01/2023
Orion
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awards
/01
"Fallingwater, with its concrete terraces perched over a real waterfall, symbolizes a rare harmony between architecture and nature." — Helen Marquart
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/02
"The house doesn’t dominate the landscape; it creates the illusion of growing from it, like a natural extension of the rocks and water." — Adrian Kovács
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/03
"Fallingwater is a clear example that modern architecture can be both boldly structural and closely integrated with nature." — Sofia Lindgren
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