What's Real, What's Fake?

AI can make pictures and videos that look absolutely real — even when they’re not. The word for these is deepfake. Learning to spot them is a superpower.

Three things to check

• Hands. AI used to have a hard time with fingers. Still does, sometimes. Count them.
• Reflections. Look at glasses, windows, puddles. Do they match the rest of the picture?
• Small text. Signs, books, t-shirts. AI often writes gibberish that looks like letters.

Videos are trickier

A “deepfake video” is when AI makes a real person say words they never said. The giveaway is usually the mouth — it doesn’t quite move right with the sound, or the teeth look wrong, or the eyes don’t blink normally.

The real question: where did this come from?

The best deepfake detector isn’t a picture test. It’s asking: who is showing me this, and can I trust where they found it? A screenshot from Instagram is not a source. A news article from a real news site is.

Remember

• If a picture or video is shocking, check before believing.
• Real sources matter more than real-looking pictures.