"Merriam-Webster Announces 'Real Deal' as 2023 Word of the Year"

Merriam-Webster has chosen "authentic" as its word of the year for 2023, reflecting the ongoing importance of truth and facts in current affairs. The term saw a substantial increase in searches due to discussions about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media. "Authentic" is valued for its meanings of being genuine and true to one's own personality or character. The rise of deepfake technology, which convincingly alters images or recordings, also garnered attention. Other notable words that drove traffic to the online dictionary included coronation, dystopian, indict, and doppelgänger.