How to Detect Deepfakes: 7 Warning Signs to Look For
Deepfakes are getting more convincing by the month. Here are 7 concrete visual clues that can reveal a manipulated image — and when it's time to stop trusting your eyes and let an AI image detector do the work.
What Is a Deepfake?
A deepfake is an image or video in which a person's face has been altered or replaced using AI. The term combines "deep learning" (the AI method behind it) and "fake." Deepfakes show up in satire and entertainment — but they're also used for fraud, blackmail, and misinformation campaigns.
7 Signs of a Deepfake
Blurry or mismatched edges around the face
Look closely at the hairline, ears, and neck. These areas often show subtle blurring or awkward transitions where the face meets the background. A classic tell: the background is sharp but the face looks slightly soft or smeared.
Inconsistent lighting
Light and shadow on the face don't match the rest of the scene. If the background light source comes from the right but the shadows on the face fall to the right as well — that's a red flag. AI struggles to get this right every time.
Unnatural-looking eyes
Eyes are one of the hardest things for AI to fake convincingly. Watch for missing reflections, pupils that are different sizes, or a glassy, vacant stare. Side-angle views often produce visible artifacts around the eye area.
Strange hair and ears
Individual strands of hair and ear details are notoriously difficult for AI models to generate. Ears often look oddly symmetrical — like mirror images of each other. Hair may have an unnatural texture or bleed into the background.
Skin that looks too perfect
Deepfake faces frequently look airbrushed to an unnatural degree — natural pores, fine lines, and minor blemishes are completely absent. Think Instagram filter cranked all the way up. Real people don't look this "clean."
Teeth and mouth interior look off
Teeth, tongues, and the inside of the mouth are genuinely hard for AI to render well. Teeth often appear too white, too uniform, or merge into a single white blob without individual definition. If a smile looks "too perfect," zoom in.
Flat or inconsistent 3D depth
Real faces have natural three-dimensionality. In deepfakes, the face can look oddly flat, or the proportions stop making sense when compared to the neck and shoulders — especially at off-angles or in profile.
When Visual Checks Aren't Enough
Modern deepfakes — especially those made with Midjourney V6 or DALL-E 3 — have reached a point where the human eye simply can't keep up. Specialized AI detectors like Scannerfy analyze images at the pixel level, picking up patterns that are completely invisible to people, with an accuracy rate of up to 99.8%.
Read next: Fake Profile Photos in Dating Apps: How to Spot a Romance Scammer →
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