Best way to detect 'deepfake' videos? Check for the pulse | Science Business Announcements - EurekAlert

Binghamton University, Intel team up for 'FakeCatcher,' which monitors faces' bloodflow data by EurekAlert.

Photo: Binghamton University

With video editing software becoming increasingly sophisticated, it's sometimes difficult to believe our own eyes. Did that actor really appear in that movie? Did that politician really say that offensive thing?

Some so-called "deepfakes" are harmless fun, but others are made with a more sinister purpose. But how do we know when a video has been manipulated?

Researchers from Binghamton University's Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science have teamed up with Intel Corp. to develop a tool called FakeCatcher, which boasts an accuracy rate above 90%.

FakeCatcher works by analyzing the subtle differences in skin color caused by the human heartbeat. Photoplethysmography (abbreviated as PPG) is the same technique used for a pulse oximeter put on the tip of your finger at a doctor's office, as well as Apple Watches and wearable fitness tracking devices that measure your heartbeat during exercise...

Future research will seek to improve and refine the FakeCatcher technology, drilling further down into the data to determine how the deepfakes are made. That capability has many implications, including cybersecurity and telemedicine, and Yin also hopes for further collaborations with Intel.

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Source: EurekAlert