Somoray, Klaire, Miller, Dan J., and Holmes, Mary (2025) Human Performance in Deepfake Detection: A Systematic Review. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2025. 1833228.

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Abstract

Deepfakes refer to a wide range of computer-generated synthetic media, in which a person’s appearance or likeness is altered to resemble that of another. This systematic review is aimed at providing an overview of the existing research into people’s ability to detect deepfakes. Five databases (IEEE, ProQuest, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) were searched up to December 2023. Studies were included if they (1) were an original study; (2) were reported in English; (3) examined people’s detection of deepfakes; (4) examined the influence of an intervention, strategy, or variable on deepfake detection; and (5) reported relevant data needed to evaluate detection accuracy. Forty independent studies from 30 unique records were included in the review. Results were narratively summarized, with key findings organized based on the review’s research questions. Studies used different performance measures, making it difficult to compare results across the literature. Detection accuracy varies widely, with some studies showing humans outperforming AI models and others indicating the opposite. Detection performance is also influenced by person-level (e.g., cognitive ability, analytical thinking) and stimuli-level factors (e.g., quality of deepfake, familiarity with the subject). Interventions to improve people’s deepfake detection yielded mixed results. Humans and AI-based detection models focus on different aspects when detecting, suggesting a potential for human–AI collaboration. The findings highlight the complex interplay of factors influencing human deepfake detection and the need for further research to develop effective strategies for deepfake detection.

Item ID:	86542
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2578-1863
Keywords:	cognitive processes; decision-making; deepfakes; human-AI collaboration; human deepfake detection
Copyright Information:	Copyright © 2025 Klaire Somoray et al. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Date Deposited:	06 Aug 2025 00:12
FoR Codes:	52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology > 520402 Decision making @ 40% 46 INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES > 4608 Human-centred computing > 460806 Human-computer interaction @ 40% 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified @ 20%
SEO Codes:	22 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES > 2204 Information systems, technologies and services > 220407 Human-computer interaction @ 40% 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280121 Expanding knowledge in psychology @ 60%
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