Spotting AI-Made Fake Stuff Online

AI can make pictures, videos, and stories that look totally real. But there are signs you can learn to spot. The more you practice, the better you get.

Some examples

• Check the hands. AI often gets fingers wrong (extra fingers, weird angles).
• Check text in the image. AI often makes garbled or made-up letters.
• Check the eyes and ears. AI sometimes makes them slightly off.
• Check the source. Is this from a trusted news site, or a random social media account?

Try it!

With a grown-up, look at 5 random pictures online. For each, guess: real or AI-made? Then talk about what made you think that. Practice makes you sharper.

Practice this safely

Try this with a low-stakes example and a trusted adult nearby. The goal is to notice how AI talks about AI fakes, not to let it make the decision for you.

1. 1Ask AI to explain AI fakes in plain language, then underline anything that sounds uncertain or too broad.
2. 2Give it one detail from "Spotting AI-Made Fake Stuff Online" and ask for two possible next steps plus one reason each step might be wrong.
3. 3Check media literacy against a trusted source, teacher, adult, expert, or original document before you use it.