Deepfake forensics: a survey of digital forensic methods for multimodal deepfake identification on social media

PeerJ Comput Sci. 2024 May 27:10:e2037. doi: 10.7717/peerj-cs.2037. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

The rapid advancement of deepfake technology poses an escalating threat of misinformation and fraud enabled by manipulated media. Despite the risks, a comprehensive understanding of deepfake detection techniques has not materialized. This research tackles this knowledge gap by providing an up-to-date systematic survey of the digital forensic methods used to detect deepfakes. A rigorous methodology is followed, consolidating findings from recent publications on deepfake detection innovation. Prevalent datasets that underpin new techniques are analyzed. The effectiveness and limitations of established and emerging detection approaches across modalities including image, video, text and audio are evaluated. Insights into real-world performance are shared through case studies of high-profile deepfake incidents. Current research limitations around aspects like cross-modality detection are highlighted to inform future work. This timely survey furnishes researchers, practitioners and policymakers with a holistic overview of the state-of-the-art in deepfake detection. It concludes that continuous innovation is imperative to counter the rapidly evolving technological landscape enabling deepfakes.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Deepfake; Deepfake technology; Digital forensics; Social media.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia through the project number: IFP22UQU4250002DSR216. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.