The video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was designed with brutal realism. Players enter lifelike combat situations and must decide whether to shoot synthetic civilians. Where do we draw the lines between disclosure and pure fantasy? Parody for laughs and deepfakes for harm? What happens when synthetic content seems so real that the psychological implications are intense and profound? What if someone generates synthetic environments that mirror real-world situations and real people?

No existing laws or regulations govern synthetic content, although some people suggest adapting current laws, such as those covering libel, defamation, identity fraud or impersonating a government official.