Deepfake content that impacts like real is a recent phenomenon resulting from the lethal combination of artificial neural networks and high-power computing. It has led to the creation of technologies and tools such as FakeApp and faceApp to produce fake but real look-alike content. The available apps and technologies offer powerful tools and techniques to change human body features such as hairstyle, voice, age, and, in some cases, the entire face can be changed with another. The inability to control and detect deepfake content poses challenges to the criminal investigation and justice systems, where video and voice form significant sources of evidence. The nexus between deepfake and misinformation has a massive potential to misguide and manipulate public opinion against political opponents and cause social discord among diverse political and social groups that may result in intra-group conflicts. While the world was still grappling with photoshopped visual images as the mainstay of the emerging digital culture, videos created by ‘synthetic media’ techniques provoked vigilante reactions by the enraged public in many countries. Deepfakes have become an effective tool for video-based forms of disinformation by both domestic and foreign actors. These videos can undermine voters’ trust and could alter electoral results. The inherent potential of deepfake to cause social, political and reputational damage has prompted calls for technological solutions to distinguish the real from the fake. Thankfully, various artificial intelligence (AI) models and technologies are available, but with limited success, as these are suffering from accuracy and maturity challenges. Deepfake detection models and technologies use datasets, but they sometimes fail to detect deepfake content due to the lack of diversity in the dataset in which they are trained.

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In this context, this book will address the challenges associated with deep fake and misinformation, providing a bigger picture of the evolution, trends, techniques, impact on critical infrastructures, national security, and open research directions. In addition, the proposed book will serve as a single source of reference for acquiring knowledge on the topic.