You saw that video of a popular musician endorsing a bizarre cryptocurrency, or a politician saying something completely outrageous and out of character. For a split second, you believed it. In a world where AI-generated content is everywhere, your confusion is understandable. As of July 2025, deepfake technology has become so alarmingly convincing that telling real from fake has evolved from a niche skill into an essential tool for navigating modern life.

In a Hurry? Spot a Deepfake with This 5-Point Check:

• 1. Scrutinize the Eyes and Eyebrows: Do they blink strangely, too often, or not at all? Do reflections in their pupils look unnatural? Eyebrows might look pasted on or lack natural movement.
• 2. Check the Edges of the Face: Look for blurring, distortion, or glitches where the face meets the hair, neck, or background. This is often where the deepfake “mask” slips.
• 3. Listen Closely to the Audio: Does the voice sound robotic, flat, or lack emotion? Is the audio perfectly synced with the lip movements? Strange pacing or intonation can be a giveaway.
• 4. Observe Skin and Hair: Does the skin look too smooth, waxy, or digitally airbrushed? Are individual hair strands, especially around the edges, blurry or poorly rendered?
• 5. Always Question the Context: Is the source trustworthy? Is the video designed to make you angry or scared? If a claim seems too shocking or wild to be true, it probably is. Pause before you share.

Why Your Brain Is Easily Fooled: The Scary Power of AI-Generated Content

Deepfakes are no longer just a hobbyist’s toy; they are a powerful tool for disinformation. They are typically created using a type of AI called a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN). In simple terms, one AI (the “Generator”) creates the fake video, while a second AI (the “Discriminator”) tries to spot it. This process repeats millions of times, with the fake-maker getting progressively better at fooling its opponent—and by extension, us.

The stakes are higher than just celebrity memes. This technology is actively being used for sophisticated financial scams, political disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing elections, and personal reputation attacks. A 2024 report from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) highlighted that the use of deepfakes in social engineering attacks has increased by over 1,500% in the last two years alone, making digital literacy a frontline defense against these threats. The goal is to hijack our trust, and right now, the attackers are winning.

The Telltale Signs: A Deep Dive into Spotting Fakes

While AI is getting smarter, there are still glitches and artifacts you can spot if you know where to look. Train your eyes and ears to look for these imperfections.

Clue #1: The Eyes Don’t Have It

The eyes are often called the windows to the soul, and for deepfakes, they are often a window into the algorithm’s flaws.

• Unnatural Blinking: Humans blink at a regular rate, about every 2-10 seconds. Early deepfakes often forgot to make the subject blink at all. Newer ones sometimes overcompensate, leading to rapid, fluttering blinks.
• Dead Gaze: Look for a lack of emotion or a “dead” look in the eyes.
• Inconsistent Reflections: The tiny reflections in a person’s pupils should match the environment they are in. If the person is outdoors, you should see the sky. If the reflections are missing, blurry, or don’t match the scene, be suspicious.

[Visual: A side-by-side comparison image. The real face has natural eye reflections and a relaxed gaze. The deepfaked face has unnaturally wide eyes with no reflections, circled in red.]

Clue #2: Awkward Facial Features and Blurry Edges

The AI is focused on generating a realistic face, but it often struggles with how that face connects to the rest of the person.

• The “Uncanny Valley”: If something just feels “off” about the face, trust your gut. The alignment of the nose, mouth, and eyes might be slightly unnatural.
• Blurry Borders: Pay close attention to the hairline, jawline, and neck. You’ll often see blurring, pixelation, or a slight “wobble” as the deepfaked face moves over the original video footage. It can look like a poorly photoshopped image in motion.

Clue #3: Unnatural Skin Texture and Lighting

Human skin is complex—it has pores, wrinkles, and blemishes. AI often smooths these details out.

• Too-Perfect Skin: Does the person’s skin look unnaturally smooth, like they have a strong beauty filter on? This can be a red flag.
• Mismatched Lighting: Check if the light and shadows on the person’s face match the lighting in the rest of the video. If the environment is dimly lit but their face is bright, the AI has failed to blend them properly.

Clue #4: Bad Lip-Syncing and Robotic Audio

Generating realistic video is hard, but creating perfectly synced, natural-sounding audio is even harder. This is often the easiest way to spot a fake.

• Audio/Video Sync Issues: Watch their lips closely. Are they forming the words at the exact same time you hear them? Even a slight delay is a major warning sign.
• Robotic Voice: Listen for a flat, emotionless tone (monotonic), strange pauses, or unnatural emphasis on certain words. AI-generated voice cloning is good, but it still struggles with human cadence and emotion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are there tools or websites that can detect deepfakes for me?

A: Yes, companies and academic institutions have developed detection tools (like Intel’s FakeCatcher or Microsoft’s Video Authenticator). However, most are not yet widely available to the public, and it’s an arms race—as detectors get better, so do the deepfakes. For now, your own critical eye is your most reliable tool.

Q: What’s the difference between a deepfake and a ‘cheapfake’?

A: A deepfake uses AI to create a new or altered video. A “cheapfake” is much simpler: it’s authentic media that has been manipulated without AI, such as being slowed down, sped up, or selectively edited to change the context. A video of a politician slurring their words might just be footage that has been slowed to half-speed. Both are forms of disinformation.

Q: Are audio-only deepfakes a threat?

A: Absolutely. Voice cloning technology is now so advanced that scammers can fake the voice of a family member or your CEO in a phone call. A common scam involves an urgent call from a “loved one” asking for money, using a voice cloned from a few seconds of audio found on their social media.

Q: What should I do if I find a malicious deepfake?

A: Do not share it. Sharing it, even to debunk it, helps it spread. Instead, report it to the social media platform immediately for violating their policies on manipulated media.

The Conclusion & Call to Engage

In our current digital landscape, seeing is no longer believing. Deepfake technology will only get better, and soon it may be impossible to spot the flaws with our eyes alone. The ultimate defense is not in our sight, but in our minds. Cultivate a healthy skepticism. Always question the source and the emotional reaction a piece of content is trying to provoke. By trading blind belief for critical thinking, you can protect yourself and help build a more resilient, truth-aware society.

What’s the most convincing fake video you’ve ever seen? Share your experience in the comments below to help others learn what to look for.