A System for Mitigating the Problem of Deepfake News Videos Using Watermarking

• Published in: Electronic Imaging Vol. 32; no. 4; pp. 117-1 - 117-10
• Main Authors: Alattar, Adnan, Sharma, Ravi, Scriven, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, VA 22151 USA Society for Imaging Science and Technology 26.01.2020
• Subjects: Authentication; Blockchain; Deep Learning; Deepfakes; Fake News; Watermarking
• ISSN: 2470-1173; 2470-1173
• DOI: 10.2352/ISSN.2470-1173.2020.4.MWSF-117

This paper describes how watermarking technology can be used to prevent the proliferation of Deepfake news. In the proposed system, digital watermarks are embedded in the audio and video tracks of video clips of trusted news agencies at the time the videos are captured or before they are distributed. The watermarks are detected at the social media network's portals, nodes, and back ends. The embedded watermark imparts a unique identifier to the video, that links it to a blockchain. The watermarks also allow video source tracking, integrity verification, and alteration localization. The watermark detectors can be standalone software applications, or they can be integrated with other applications. They are used to perform three main tasks: (1) they alert the internet user when he watches an inauthentic news video, so that he may discard it, (2) they prevent a Deepfake news video from propagating through the network (3) they perform forensic analysis to help track and remove Deepfake news video postings. The paper includes Proof-of- Concept simulation results.