# Can ChatGPT Detect DeepFakes? A Study of Using Multimodal Large Language Models for Media Forensics

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.14077 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.14077/

## Key facts

- Cited by 69 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in MLLM jailbreaks and adversarial robustness, one of 16 directions in Multimodal LLMs / vision-language models.
- Builds on 31 of its 46 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 21 Mar 2024.

## Placed in

- Multimodal LLMs / vision-language models / [MLLM jailbreaks and adversarial robustness](https://mlsanity.com/mllm/mllm-jailbreaks-and-adversarial-robustness/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 31)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10752/) (2021)
- [GPT-4 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08774/) (2023)
- [Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.11903/) (2022)
- [A Style-Based Generator Architecture for Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.04948/) (2018)
- [Analyzing and Improving the Image Quality of StyleGAN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.04958/) (2019)
- [Progressive Growing of GANs for Improved Quality, Stability, and Variation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.10196/) (2017)
- [LSUN: Construction of a Large-scale Image Dataset using Deep Learning with Humans in the Loop](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.03365/) (2015)
- [FaceForensics++: Learning to Detect Manipulated Facial Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.08971/) (2019)
- [CNN-generated images are surprisingly easy to spot... for now](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.11035/) (2019)
- [The Dawn of LMMs: Preliminary Explorations with GPT-4V(ision)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.17421/) (2023)
- [Celeb-DF: A Large-scale Challenging Dataset for DeepFake Forensics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.12962/) (2019)
- [Leveraging Frequency Analysis for Deep Fake Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.08685/) (2020)
- [Face X-ray for More General Face Forgery Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.13458/) (2019)
- [Exposing DeepFake Videos By Detecting Face Warping Artifacts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.00656/) (2018)
- [On the detection of synthetic images generated by diffusion models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.00680/) (2022)
- [Capsule-Forensics: Using Capsule Networks to Detect Forged Images and Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.11215/) (2018)
- [Are GAN generated images easy to detect? A critical analysis of the state-of-the-art](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.02617/) (2021)
- [Fusing Global and Local Features for Generalized AI-Synthesized Image Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.13964/) (2022)
- [Can GPT-4V(ision) Serve Medical Applications? Case Studies on GPT-4V for Multimodal Medical Diagnosis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.09909/) (2023)
- [Detecting GAN-generated Imagery using Color Cues](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.08247/) (2018)
- [Exposing GAN-generated Faces Using Inconsistent Corneal Specular Highlights](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.11924/) (2020)
- [Beyond the Spectrum: Detecting Deepfakes via Re-Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.14376/) (2021)
- [SHIELD : An Evaluation Benchmark for Face Spoofing and Forgery Detection with Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.04178/) (2024)
- [Explaining Deepfake Detection by Analysing Image Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.09679/) (2022)
- [How Good is ChatGPT at Face Biometrics? A First Look into Recognition, Soft Biometrics, and Explainability](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.13641/) (2024)
- [Exposing GAN-synthesized Faces Using Landmark Locations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.00167/) (2019)
- [How Do the Hearts of Deep Fakes Beat? Deep Fake Source Detection via Interpreting Residuals with Biological Signals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.11363/) (2020)
- [Wavelet-Packets for Deepfake Image Analysis and Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.09369/) (2021)
- [GLFF: Global and Local Feature Fusion for AI-synthesized Image Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.08615/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 69)

- [Spot the Fake: Large Multimodal Model-Based Synthetic Image Detection with Artifact Explanation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.14905/) (2025)
- [Generalizing Deepfake Video Detection with Plug-and-Play: Video-Level Blending and Spatiotemporal Adapter Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.17065/) (2024)
- [Can We Leave Deepfake Data Behind in Training Deepfake Detector?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.17052/) (2024)
- [FIRE: Robust Detection of Diffusion-Generated Images via Frequency-Guided Reconstruction Error](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.07140/) (2024)
- [DEFAME: Dynamic Evidence-based FAct-checking with Multimodal Experts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.10510/) (2024)
- [Rethinking Vision-Language Model in Face Forensics: Multi-Modal Interpretable Forged Face Detector](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.20188/) (2025)
- [FakeBench: Probing Explainable Fake Image Detection via Large Multimodal Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.13306/) (2024)
- [X2-DFD: A framework for eXplainable and eXtendable Deepfake Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.06126/) (2024)
- [AIGI-Holmes: Towards Explainable and Generalizable AI-Generated Image Detection via Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.02664/) (2025)
- [MoE-FFD: Mixture of Experts for Generalized and Parameter-Efficient Face Forgery Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.08452/) (2024)
- [ALLM4ADD: Unlocking the Capabilities of Audio Large Language Models for Audio Deepfake Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.11079/) (2025)
- [Characterizing Photorealism and Artifacts in Diffusion Model-Generated Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.11989/) (2025)
- [Exploring ChatGPT for Face Presentation Attack Detection in Zero and Few-Shot in-Context Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.08799/) (2025)
- [Survey on AI-Generated Media Detection: From Non-MLLM to MLLM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.05240/) (2025)
- [VLForgery Face Triad: Detection, Localization and Attribution via Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.06142/) (2025)
- [OpenFake: An Open Dataset and Platform Toward Real-World Deepfake Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.09495/) (2025)
- [A Multimodal Deviation Perceiving Framework for Weakly-Supervised Temporal Forgery Localization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.16596/) (2025)
- [Open-Set Deepfake Detection: A Parameter-Efficient Adaptation Method with Forgery Style Mixture](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.12791/) (2024)
- [REVEAL: Robust Evolution of Vision-Language Models for Explainable AI-Video Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.14994/) (2025)
- [Guard Me If You Know Me: Protecting Specific Face-Identity from Deepfakes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.19582/) (2025)
- [Evolving from Single-modal to Multi-modal Facial Deepfake Detection: Progress and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.06965/) (2024)
- [ForenX: Towards Explainable AI-Generated Image Detection with Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01402/) (2025)
- [EvoGuard: An Extensible Agentic RL-based Framework for Practical and Evolving AI-Generated Image Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.17343/) (2026)
- [Multimodal Chain-of-Thought Reasoning via ChatGPT to Protect Children from Age-Inappropriate Apps](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.06309/) (2024)
- [How Good is ChatGPT at Audiovisual Deepfake Detection: A Comparative Study of ChatGPT, AI Models and Human Perception](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.09266/) (2024)
- [Benchmarking Multimodal Large Language Models for Face Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.14866/) (2025)
- [From Evidence to Verdict: An Agent-Based Forensic Framework for AI-Generated Image Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.00181/) (2025)
- [REVEAL: Reasoning-Enhanced Forensic Evidence Analysis for Explainable AI-Generated Image Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.23158/) (2025)
- [A Hitchhikers Guide to Fine-Grained Face Forgery Detection Using Common Sense Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.00485/) (2024)
- [Human Action CLIPs: Detecting AI-generated Human Motion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.00526/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

DeepFakes, which refer to AI-generated media content, have become an increasing concern due to their use as a means for disinformation. Detecting DeepFakes is currently solved with programmed machine learning algorithms. In this work, we investigate the capabilities of multimodal large language models (LLMs) in DeepFake detection. We conducted qualitative and quantitative experiments to demonstrate multimodal LLMs and show that they can expose AI-generated images through careful experimental design and prompt engineering. This is interesting, considering that LLMs are not inherently tailored for media forensic tasks, and the process does not require programming. We discuss the limitations of multimodal LLMs for these tasks and suggest possible improvements.