Dear Colleagues,

Machine-learning-based techniques are being utilized to generate hyper-realistic manipulated facial multimedia content, known as DeepFakes. While such technologies have positive potentials for use in entertainment applications, the malevolent use of this technology can harm citizens and the society as a whole by facilitating the construction of indecent content, the spread of fake news to subvert elections or undermine politics, bullying, and the amelioration of social engineering to perpetrate financial fraud. In fact, it has been shown that manipulated facial multimedia content can not only deceive humans but also automated face-recognition-based biometric systems. The advent of advanced hardware, powerful smart devices, user-friendly apps (e.g., FaceApp and ZAO), and open-source ML codes (e.g., Generative Adversarial Networks) have enabled even non-experts to effortlessly create manipulated facial multimedia contents. In principle, face manipulation involves swapping two faces, modifying facial attributes (e.g., age and gender), morphing two different faces into one face, adding imperceptible perturbations (i.e., adversarial examples), synthetically generating faces, or animating/recreating facial expressions in face images/videos.

 Topics of interest of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

• The generation of DeepFakes, face morphing, manipulation and adversarial attacks;
• The generation of synthetic faces using ML/AI techniques, e.g., GANs;
• The detection of DeepFakes, face morphing, manipulation and adversarial attacks, including generalizable systems;
• The generation and detection of audio DeepFakes;
• Novel datasets and experimental protocols to facilitate research in DeepFakes and face manipulations;
• The formulation and extraction of DeepFake devices, platforms and software/app fingerprints;
• Face recognition systems (and humans) against DeepFakes, face morphing, manipulation and adversarial attacks, including their vulnerabilities to digital face manipulations;
• DeepFakes in the courtroom and on copyright law.

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