Real or AI? Here's How To Tell

AI-generated video and images are everywhere now, and some of it is convincing enough to make you do a double take. Before you trust the next thing that crosses your feed, here's what to actually look for.

Watch how they move

One of biggest giveaways is motion. If someone gets blurry mid-movement, the background shifts in and out of focus, or their body just looks a little too stiff and unnatural, you're probably looking at AI. Real people don't move like that.

Check the color grading

AI models still struggle to nail real-life color accuracy. The result is usually flat, slightly washed-out tones that don't quite match how light and color behave in the real world. If something looks a little too smooth or muted, that's a red flag.

Look closely at hair, teeth, and fingers

These two details trip up AI more than almost anything else. Hair has texture and moves dynamically, which is hard to fake. Teeth are also notoriously difficult to replicate convincingly. If the hair seems frozen in place or the teeth look unnaturally perfect, even by veneer standards, it's worth a second look.

Check the background

If you can't tell from the main subject, look around them. AI tends to slip up in the details it's not focused on, like warped text, objects that don't quite make sense, or background people who move strangely. The background is often where it falls apart first.

Camera Angles

Ask yourself who's actually filming this. If a video has cinematic, perfectly framed angles during something like a near-death experience or a chaotic accident, that's a major red flag. Real footage of real emergencies is usually shaky, poorly framed, and shot from whatever angle someone happened to be standing at, not a perfectly composed shot.

Trust your gut

Sometimes the easiest tell is just common sense. Does the story actually add up? If a video or photo shows a situation that makes no logical sense, or someone's timeline doesn't check out, something's off.

The bottom line: don't believe something happened just because there's video of it. Now you know what to look for.

Watch my video on this with examples here. Follow @jessicanaziri for the latest tech and AI updates.