Deepfake detection in Media content (Images & Videos) Using Artificial Neural Networks

Raguraj Sivanantham
5 min readFeb 6, 2024

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What is deepfake?

A deepfake is a type of artificial intelligence-based technique that involves creating or manipulating audio, video, or other digital content to make it appear as if it has been produced by someone or something else. This often involves using deep learning algorithms, particularly Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), to generate highly realistic and convincing fake content.

Deepfakes can be used to create fake videos of people saying or doing things they never did, and the technology has raised concerns about its potential misuse for spreading misinformation or creating realistic yet fabricated content. It’s important to be cautious and verify the authenticity of digital content, especially in the era of advanced AI technologies like deepfakes.

Left: Real footage of Barack Obama. Right: Simulated video using new Deep Video Portraits technology.
Source: H. Kim et al., 2018/Gizmodo

What is the problem with deepfakes?

In today’s digital world, we often see pictures and videos on the internet. Some of these can be changed or faked using powerful computer technology. These altered media are called “deepfakes.” Deepfakes are a big concern because they can make people believe something that didn’t really happen. This can be used to spread fake news or create problems.

To fight against deepfakes, researchers have been working on ways to detect them. One useful tool in this fight is called a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). CNNs are good at spotting things that look strange in pictures and videos.

How deepfakes can be identified?

Identifying deepfakes can be challenging because they are designed to mimic real content convincingly. However, there are several methods and techniques that can help in detecting them:

  • Artifact Analysis: Deepfakes may leave artifacts or inconsistencies in the video, such as unnatural blinking, strange facial expressions, or distortions in the background.
  • Facial and Lip-Syncing Errors: Deepfakes may struggle with accurately syncing the lips and facial movements with the audio. Look for discrepancies between the audio and visual elements.
  • Inconsistent Lighting and Shadows: Pay attention to lighting and shadows, as deepfakes may have inconsistencies that are not present in natural footage.
  • Unnatural Eye Movements: Deepfake videos might exhibit unusual or unnatural eye movements that differ from a real person’s behavior.
  • Blur or Glitches: Deepfakes may show blurriness or glitches, particularly around the edges of the face or in areas with high detail.
  • Analysis Tools: There are specialized tools and software developed for deepfake detection. These tools often use machine learning algorithms to analyze videos for signs of manipulation.
  • Source Verification: Verify the original source of the content. Deepfakes are often generated from existing videos, so confirming the authenticity of the source material can be helpful.
  • It’s worth noting that as deepfake technology evolves, so do detection methods. Researchers and developers continually work on improving techniques to identify manipulated content.

Evolution of Deepfake Technology

With the rapid advancement of deepfake technology, which is driven by AI and deep learning, it is now possible to substitute a person’s likeness in photos and videos with that of another. Deepfakes were once only possible for experts, but these days, virtually anyone with a computer and an internet connection can create them. The capacity of deep learning to identify complex patterns from large datasets changed the game and made it possible to produce incredibly realistic deepfakes.

With the use of large image and video datasets of the target person, these AI systems may be trained to produce content that replicates their actions and speech. Deepfake technology offers innovative and instructive uses, but there are also significant dangers associated with it. Deepfakes can be used for bad intentions, such as influencing elections, distributing false information, and extortion. Deepfake technology is considerably more advanced and available in 2023, raising further questions about its misuse.

Several well-known generative AI platforms, like OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 and Midjourney 5.1, can produce realistic and high-quality deepfakes. As a result, deepfakes are now more frequently used for illegal deeds including social engineering and financial fraud. People should be alert, examine content carefully, evaluate sources, and use fact-checking services to guard against scams related to deepfake.

Neural Networks in Deepfake Detection

One kind of neural network that works exceptionally well for deepfake detection is the convolutional neural network (CNN). The ability of CNNs to recognize intricate patterns in photos is crucial for identifying the minute discrepancies that deepfakes frequently contain.

Using a dataset of known real and fake photos to train the model is one method of using CNNs for deepfake detection. The model will pick up on the characteristics that separate authentic photos from phony ones. The algorithm may be trained to identify fresh photos as authentic or fraudulent.

Using CNNs to detect deepfakes might also involve training the model to recognize faults that are frequently seen in deepfakes. For instance, blurring errors, uneven lighting, or strange facial expressions are examples of deepfakes. These artifacts can be used to train the model to distinguish between actual and false images when classifying new ones.

CNNs have been shown to be very effective for deepfake detection. In a recent study, a CNN-based deepfake detector was able to achieve an accuracy of 99% on a dataset of known real and fake images.

Here are some examples of how CNNs are being used for deepfake detection in the real world:

- Facebook uses CNNs to detect deepfake videos on its platform.

- Twitter uses CNNs to detect deepfake images and videos that are being used to spread misinformation.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a CNN-based deepfake detector that can identify deepfakes in real time.

CNNs are a powerful tool for deepfake detection. As CNN technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see even more effective deepfake detectors emerge in the future.

Let’s see Methods for deepfake detection, Datasets can be used, Challenges we may need to face and Evaluation methods in next part..

Thankyou for reading !

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Raguraj Sivanantham
Raguraj Sivanantham

Written by Raguraj Sivanantham

MERN Stack, Laravel, CodeIgniter | IT Enthusiast | Undergraduate at University of Moratuwa | B.Sc (Hons.) in Information Technology and Management