Advancing GAN Deepfake Detection: Mixed Datasets and Comprehensive Artifact Analysis

The rapid advancement of synthetic media, while beneficial, has also spawned GAN-generated deepfakes, which pose risks, including misinformation and digital fraud. This paper investigates the detectability of GAN-generated static images, focusing on residual artifacts that are imperceptible to humans but detectable through digital analysis. Our approach introduces three key advancements: (1) a taxonomy for classifying GAN residues in deepfake detection; (2) a unique mixed dataset combining StyleGAN3, ProGAN, and InterfaceGAN to aid cross-model detection research; and (3) a combination of frequency space analysis and RGB color correlation methods to improve artifact detection. Covering three different transform methods, three GAN models, and twelve classification methods, ours is the most comprehensive study of detection of static deepfake face images produced by GANs. Our results demonstrate that artifact-based detection can achieve high accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores, challenging prior assumptions about the detectability of synthetic face images.