Ensemble-Based Deepfake Detection using State-of-the-Art Models with Robust Cross-Dataset Generalisation

Authors: Haroon Wahab, Hassan Ugail, Lujain Jaleel

Published: 2025-07-08 13:54:48+00:00

AI Summary

This research explores ensemble methods to improve the generalization of deepfake detection across diverse datasets. By combining predictions from multiple state-of-the-art models, the study demonstrates that ensembles provide more stable and reliable performance than individual models, addressing the challenge of poor generalization in out-of-distribution data.

Abstract

Machine learning-based Deepfake detection models have achieved impressive results on benchmark datasets, yet their performance often deteriorates significantly when evaluated on out-of-distribution data. In this work, we investigate an ensemble-based approach for improving the generalization of deepfake detection systems across diverse datasets. Building on a recent open-source benchmark, we combine prediction probabilities from several state-of-the-art asymmetric models proposed at top venues. Our experiments span two distinct out-of-domain datasets and demonstrate that no single model consistently outperforms others across settings. In contrast, ensemble-based predictions provide more stable and reliable performance in all scenarios. Our results suggest that asymmetric ensembling offers a robust and scalable solution for real-world deepfake detection where prior knowledge of forgery type or quality is often unavailable.