Synthetic Media

Synthetic media are content created wholly or partly by artificial intelligence, that is AI-generated text, images, audio and video. Deepfakes are a special case of this. The EU AI Act ties labelling obligations to synthetic content: AI-generated media must be recognisable as such under Article 50, in force from 2 August 2026.

What are synthetic media?

Synthetic media is the umbrella term for content created wholly or in part by an AI: text from a large language model, images from an image generator, artificial voices, AI videos. They are produced with generative AI. A deepfake is a well-known special case, namely a synthetic medium that deceptively resembles real people or events.

Note: this article is orientation, not legal advice. For binding questions, turn to a lawyer.

Synthetic media versus deepfakes

Not every synthetic medium is a deepfake. An AI-generated mood image for a blog article is synthetic, but not a deepfake, because it does not imitate anyone specific. Only when the content imitates real people, places or events and would appear authentic does the EU AI Act speak of a deepfake. The labelling logic is similar in both cases.

Labelling synthetic content

The EU AI Act provides in Article 50 that AI-generated or manipulated content be made recognisable, including deepfakes as well as AI text on matters of public interest that is published without human editorial control. The AI labelling obligation is thus the practical framework for synthetic media. The detailed requirements are being clarified through guidelines and a voluntary code of conduct (EU Commission, 10 June 2026).

What businesses should keep in mind

Anyone using AI images, AI voices or AI videos in marketing produces synthetic media and should factor in labelling from the start. For pure text communication in customer service, by contrast, AI disclosure is the right lever, that is, the note that a bot is replying.

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