Cascaded Adaptive Graph Representation Learning for Image Copy-Move Forgery Detection

In the realm of image security, there has been a burgeoning interest in harnessing deep learning techniques for the detection of digital image copy-move forgeries, resulting in promising outcomes. The generation process of such forgeries results in a distinctive topological structure among patches, and collaborative modeling based on these underlying topologies proves instrumental in enhancing the discrimination of ambiguous pixels. Despite the attention received, existing deep learning models predominantly rely on convolutional neural networks, falling short in adequately capturing correlations among distant patches. This limitation impedes the seamless propagation of information and collaborative learning across related patches. To address this gap, our work introduces an innovative framework for image copy-move forensics rooted in graph representation learning. Initially, we introduce an adaptive graph learning approach to foster collaboration among related patches, dynamically learning the inherent topology of patches. The devised approach excels in promoting efficient information flow among related patches, encompassing both short-range and long-range correlations. Additionally, we formulate a cascaded graph learning framework, progressively refining patch representations and disseminating information to broader correlated patches based on their updated topologies. Finally, we propose a hierarchical cross-attention mechanism facilitating the exchange of information between the cascaded graph learning branch and a dedicated forgery detection branch. This equips our method with the capability to jointly grasp the homology of copy-move correspondences and identify inconsistencies between the target region and the background. Comprehensive experimental results validate the superiority of our proposed scheme, providing a robust solution to security challenges posed by digital image manipulations.