Detection of Manipulations in Digital Images: A Review of Passive and Active Methods Utilizing Deep Learning

The modern society generates vast amounts of digital content, whose credibility plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion and decision-making processes. The rapid development of social networks and generative technologies, such as deepfakes, significantly increases the risk of disinformation through image manipulation. This article aims to review methods for verifying images’ integrity, particularly through deep learning techniques, addressing both passive and active approaches. Their effectiveness in various scenarios has been analyzed, highlighting their advantages and limitations. This study reviews the scientific literature and research findings, focusing on techniques that detect image manipulations and localize areas of tampering, utilizing both statistical properties of images and embedded hidden watermarks. Passive methods, based on analyzing the image itself, are versatile and can be applied across a broad range of cases; however, their effectiveness depends on the complexity of the modifications and the characteristics of the image. Active methods, which involve embedding additional information into the image, offer precise detection and localization of changes but require complete control over creating and distributing visual materials. Both approaches have their applications depending on the context and available resources. In the future, a key challenge remains the development of methods resistant to advanced manipulations generated by diffusion models and further leveraging innovations in deep learning to protect the integrity of visual content.