Dark trait, Deception, and Deepfakes: the interplay of Machiavellianism, Cognitive Biases and Misinformation in the Organization.

In contemporary workplaces, several times it is observed that employees maintain a false identity and exhibit Machiavellian behaviors to advance their interests. The present research explores how Machiavellianism, is connected with cognitive bias, deep fakes and misinformation. It seeks to answer key questions about how Machiavellian traits along with cognitive biases influence in creating and believing in misinformation and disinformation, and what broader impacts may arise from this interplay? How Machiavellians can affect the overall environment of the organization? By employing a mixed-method approach and the study being distributed in two sets, which includes quantitative surveys and experimental exposure to deep fakes the study aims to uncover the psychological mechanisms that drive individuals having moderate to high levels of Machiavellianism engage more with the deceptive practices in workplaces. Study 1 comprises of 400 employees working in different organizations and study 2 comprises of 60 employees for control and experimental groups. For collecting data on Machiavellianism Mach-IV inventory, cognitive bias DACOBS and for misinformation MIST, which are all standardized scales, were used respectively. For study 1 Regression and for study 2 MANOVA would be conducted. This study provides a crucial foundation for further research into the psychological factors like cognitive bias, that shape the digital information landscape, particularly in the context of emerging technologies like deep fakes.