How to Tell if an Online Photo Is Fake

And an October survey from the Canadian Journalism Foundation found more than half of boomer and Gen X respondents confessed they weren’t confident about distinguishing between AI- and human-generated content.

Here are seven ways to tell what’s real and ensure that you aren’t sharing false images with others.

1. Conduct a quick reverse image search

As AI becomes more sophisticated, reverse image searching is an important tool for confirming the reality of photos, says Alexa Volland, senior manager of educator professional learning for the News Literacy Project. The nonprofit provides free resources to teach people how to identify credible news.

A reverse image search is an online tool that reveals information such as when and where a photo was taken, who took it, and where it appears online. With Google Image Search, click its camera icon 📷 and then drag or upload an image. You can also paste a web address.

The results can show the photo’s origin and share information from news organizations and fact-checkers.

Similar tools include Bing Visual Search and Yahoo Image Search. Websites include DupliChecker.com and Labnol.org. You can find apps through the Apple and Google Play stores.

Volland’s favorite tool is TinEye: She likes its “most changed” sorting option, which shows how an image has been digitally altered.

For noncommercial users, the search is available free on the TinEye website or as a browser extension for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox, says Executive Director Yonty Friesem of the Media Education Lab, which helps develop programs to teach students and others how to detect disinformation. He likes the plug-in because you can right-click on images online to immediately search their origins.

Anyone can do it.

“Reverse image searching can be 30 seconds or less,” Volland says.

2. Question inflammatory T-shirts

Before the previous presidential election, a photo on Twitter showed a group of women in T-shirts that said, “I’m a racist [expletive] 2020.” However, the image was doctored.

The real T-shirts said, “I’m a Trump girl 2020.” T-shirts, like other surfaces with text, are a common target for manipulators.

“Hats, posters, billboards — these can all act as a canvas for false messages,” Volland says.

3. Distrust incendiary celebrity statements 

If you see celebrities sharing divisive messages, be suspicious. Stars such as Ben Affleck, Chris Evans, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Sylvester Stallone have all appeared in T-shirts that make contentious political statements. And all of the images are fake.

“When I see a public figure wearing something with a shocking message, I’m immediately a little skeptical,” Volland says. “Ask yourself questions like, ‘Does it make sense for this person to be doing this thing? Is this out of character?’ ”

4. Go to the source 

A quick look at Messi’s Instagram page would have shown that he didn’t post the Israeli flag photo. Even a basic Google search can uncover truths.

Search for “Lionel Messi with Israeli flag” and you’ll find stories from USA Today and Reuters debunking the image along with reports from AFP Fact Check, which is a department within Agence France-Presse French news agency, and other fact-checking sites.

5. Look for AI clues 

AI technology is improving rapidly. You’ll see fewer hands with six fingers now and weirdly shaped earlobes, but it’s still flawed.

“Most of the photos that are AI-generated have this cinematic sheen, an overly glossy finish,” Volland says. About those unrealistic hands: In 2023, an image of Pope Francis addressing a huge crowd in Lisbon was shared widely on social media, but his left hand had just three fingers.

6. Check the lighting 

A manipulated photo, such as cutting and pasting a politician so he’s at a Ku Klux Klan rally instead of a baseball game, can include mistakes. If someone’s hair is blowing, for example, and the person is supposed to be inside, something’s not right.

Odd lighting and shadows are also giveaways. Volland has seen numerous examples “where someone will take a high-profile person, edit them out of the original image, and put them in a new scene where the lighting doesn’t make physical sense.”

7. Gauge your emotions 

False images often create anger, whether it’s a shot of Dr. Mehmet Oz kissing former President Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame or a man in Warsaw giving President Biden the finger. Trump earned his star for The Apprentice and Biden has been to Poland as president, but neither photo ever happened.

If you feel an intense emotional reaction, that’s a warning sign for misinformation and confirmation bias.

“If something makes you feel angry or superior or frightened, be aware that this is a tactic,” says Claire Wardle, cofounder and codirector of the Information Futures Lab at Brown University. “They’re trying to double down on people’s existing beliefs.”

This story, originally published Jan. 4, 2024, was updated with new developments and a new video.