Science & Technology
How to Spot Fake AI Photos | Hany Farid | TED
How do you know if that shocking photo in your feed is real, or just another AI fake? Digital forensics expert Hany Farid explains how he helps journalists, courts and governments find structural errors in AI-generated images, offering four practical tips everyday individuals can use when facing the internet’s war on reality. (Recorded at TED2025…
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@mtn.hermit
July 19, 2025 at 8:52 am
This is an easy fix – turn off the feed.
@SuccessRoots
July 19, 2025 at 9:53 am
AI can fake details, but it can’t fake truth.
Stay sharp. Stay human.
If you still value what’s real, hit like ❤❤❤
@ForAnAngel
July 19, 2025 at 1:29 pm
AI images may not be perfect yet but they are getting better all the time.
@healstone966
July 19, 2025 at 1:49 pm
Correct about most social media. Thankful that the Meidas Touch News features verifiable truth and for that reason it has outreached traditional news media as a reputable resource because legacy media has not been doing their job of reporting truth.
@dirkwyse1609
July 19, 2025 at 2:17 pm
Open the pod bay doors, Hal
@Magrafo_
July 19, 2025 at 2:26 pm
plot twist: this entire video was made by AI
@TerranceShaw
July 19, 2025 at 2:29 pm
If your first action as a leader of soldiers isn’t to immediately attempt to muster them, there’s a bigger problem.
@Bushman9
July 19, 2025 at 2:39 pm
If social media is the digital equivalent of junk food, then TikTok is the digital equivalent of McDonald’s.
@deepspacerecordsuk
July 19, 2025 at 2:52 pm
Mainstream media is also unreliable.
@Mrtweet81
July 19, 2025 at 4:22 pm
Currently, they will resolve these problems in a couple of years
@MetroCounterColl
July 19, 2025 at 4:45 pm
If “social media is not a place to get news and information” what is then? The controlled media that have and still constantly do perpetuate lies and fake narratives for the interest of a very few since the start of their creation?
@keepsimple1
July 19, 2025 at 5:03 pm
Great talk! But the thing is, if not for social media, I won’t find your talk 😉
@narcissistwhisperer
July 19, 2025 at 5:51 pm
Studying psychology, I learned people could be lying to me & truly not know they are. I have had to tell people, ‘I know you believe you are being truthful with me, but I KNOW you are not. And I can prove it.’ Knowing this & having to say this to people is surreal. People I care about.
Seek the truth. From multiple sources. Learn about psychology & manipulations. Manipulators have been practicing their entire lives to master their ‘craft’. Master the manipulators & become more powerful than them. Knowledge truly is power.
@DoloresJNurss
July 19, 2025 at 5:54 pm
By the way, we’re watching this on a social media platform.
@gregsquires6201
July 19, 2025 at 7:22 pm
That is amazing! I didn’t know giraffes could stand on their back legs like that.
@dinky9216
July 19, 2025 at 7:58 pm
If he provides the tools surely a GAN (generative adversarial network) would use them to refine to images?
@TS73827
July 19, 2025 at 8:10 pm
OpenAI and DeepMind/Google have already developed models capable of generating the very type of deceptive analysis to which the esteemed professor referred. These adversarial systems are now being integrated with image-generation models, with the result that, in the near future, such models will be able to fabricate images that successfully pass as authentic, even under the scrutiny of sophisticated detection algorithms. This dynamic is emblematic of an ongoing arms race between generative and discriminative AI, one in which the technological advantage appears increasingly skewed toward the machines. Humanity may soon face an alarming realization of just how rapidly these capabilities are advancing. For clarity, let me state for the record – I am, indeed, human!!!
@robstimson4234
July 19, 2025 at 8:15 pm
Actually the first tip-off for me about the captured soldiers image is the fog in the picture. Hollywood horror and drama movies [for starters] put fog in the sets. To enhance a spooky/dramatic effect. Look at any authentic hostage news photos that made it into print or primetime newscast. No mood lighting. No fog. That’s my first impression. Great talk, Ted! [Oops!] Hani!
@pbsfix269
July 19, 2025 at 8:27 pm
If gifted with discernment, you can tell at a glance.
@MarkSmith-pe4rd
July 19, 2025 at 8:49 pm
Won’t the AI engineers watch this video and decide that they will make some study of photo forensics and incorporate that into a future version of AI image generation?
@Cambailey-g8z
July 19, 2025 at 9:05 pm
Has anyone suggested that this video is fake j b
@seamon9732
July 19, 2025 at 9:22 pm
This is gonna age like fine milk at the pace things are going.
@mysterbear
July 19, 2025 at 9:24 pm
Another indication that the image of the soldiers is bogus: their hair is combed.
@Pursuing_a_PhD
July 19, 2025 at 9:25 pm
*first photo pops up* the shadows have light,, through,, the men???
@TexasBirdFeeder
July 19, 2025 at 9:26 pm
Google: release date of the movie China Syndrome. Then the date of the Three Mile Island incident. Yes Hany Farid – stay away from those crazy conspiracy theories!
@Spyrit2011
July 20, 2025 at 7:46 pm
AI was never taught drawing 101.
@pcparts2u
July 20, 2025 at 8:01 pm
AI has watched this and will now generate natural noise… it can’t be stopped …everything a human can detect… AI will learn and do it better
@DynamicLearning4u
July 20, 2025 at 8:03 pm
In the first 2 mins, he’s already selling his service. I wish he would leave business out of it
@Bsfr666
July 20, 2025 at 8:04 pm
3:29 this only happens to asian girls. This never happens to white women
@charadeyouare322
July 20, 2025 at 8:05 pm
Your title is redundant.
@JC-dt7rn
July 20, 2025 at 8:06 pm
I trained a eye on how to beat the Casino at a particular game – I must say it’s been overall successful if I eliminate the human emotion part out of it. It may eliminate my job, But it doesn’t eliminate the ability to earn money. Thank you AI.
@utsandstone
July 20, 2025 at 8:06 pm
YouTube is obviously loaded with aI generated thumbnails. Look at Cash Jordan for instance. All his videos have have fake mobs of illegal immigrants surrounding some huge army truck. Also I can’t stand to see super realistic people looking shocked or angry.
Google should demand creators include a caption that says AI generated image on the thumbnail.
@deovolente6326
July 20, 2025 at 8:07 pm
I’ve been expecting this message
@abelincoln3261
July 20, 2025 at 8:08 pm
I’m rarely fooled. I’m 68 .. I’ve worked with computers since 1996. My point is, applying logic, common sense and a little bit of thought… one can almost always see the BS … the lies the frauds the fakes… Example more than 95% of all ads run on youtube are total scams… I report them youtube does nothing. But I know they’re scams so should you !
@EugeneDouglason
July 20, 2025 at 8:08 pm
Even before I was a teen, I learned how to sketch images. Later I took art classes. Using the concept you’ve given about vanishing point, and light refraction in natural shadows, I spotted those in that photo and realized they were AI.
Everyone needs to take art classes. Learn how to sketch on a sketching pad. You will see what is natural.
@JC-dt7rn
July 20, 2025 at 8:08 pm
Assume it’s fake until proven otherwise. Trust but verify.
@darkdispeller
July 20, 2025 at 8:18 pm
I wish you’d analyze the supposed lunar landings to prove that for the bs it is
@thespicemelange.1
July 20, 2025 at 8:26 pm
That soldier picture the background looks so fake
@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject
July 20, 2025 at 8:39 pm
A very nice, informative analysis of AI’s capability in image creation. Gives one something to think about.
@tonyclifton265
July 20, 2025 at 8:39 pm
i gave up at 5 minutes. so fkn boring.
@Youtuber-yc4uo
July 20, 2025 at 8:54 pm
Any stat where james harden is second best ever….. that’s a stupid stat. Hakeem quadruple double not in to ten???? Fkn stupid stat.
@thisoldminer
July 20, 2025 at 8:58 pm
Now we can’t tell truthful facts thx Hany Farid
@sarahdee374
July 20, 2025 at 9:04 pm
I disagree on one point: I do not think we have 20 years if we continue as now. I’d say more like 2 years.
@woodturner1954
July 20, 2025 at 9:09 pm
NBC, CNN, will ignore your interpretation of an image if it does not meet their screwed up news logic.
@fpl_dizz
July 20, 2025 at 9:14 pm
I would rather get my news and information from a few trusted sources on X than any main stream media.
@JukkaKouletsis
July 20, 2025 at 9:14 pm
“I believe we are in crisis. The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.” Mon Mothma
1:59 of this video. The liar’s dividend is indeed at hand, with the online tsunami of false photos/videos to ensure its ongoing viability. I wish I was as optimistic as Mr. Farid about our chances.
@loris3595
July 20, 2025 at 9:18 pm
Name a reliable source of news!
@V4VestA
July 20, 2025 at 9:21 pm
It’s interesting the persistent agenda to falsely associate the word “conspiracy” with “falsehood”.
@VertigoBear
July 20, 2025 at 9:23 pm
So weird. He only mentioned X. Should people not also be concerned about Bluesky?
@1airdrummer
July 20, 2025 at 9:29 pm
One of the greatest tools you can use to decipher AI from real, is logic.
@m2svirtual384
July 21, 2025 at 6:22 pm
There are too few that want to live in a world of ‘truth’. The vast majority seem to attach themselves to things that represent the ideas they wish to bring into reality. So they don’t care if something is AI generated. If it models something they connect with, they will share it as if it’s real. This not only goes for possible images of faux hostages, but also little cute faux puppies, etc etc. It’s truly frightening how outnumbered we are…
@JHJOwen
July 21, 2025 at 6:34 pm
Great message! Enjoyed this talk and it’s given me some simple tips to analyse content on social media.
@bobicus
July 21, 2025 at 6:37 pm
This is 3 days old, AKA completely outdated information about AI LMAO i love people talking about AI that just shouldnt at all.
@bhalugoshe
July 21, 2025 at 6:46 pm
How long before some AI engineer decides to put natural noise in the AI generated images too. Let’s accept it, photographs are no longer credible evidence. Forget engineer, what if a crazy CEO like Elon Musk decides to do this, he has everything to benefit from it too, or any big corporate for the sake of profits.
@bimmer_ed
July 21, 2025 at 6:59 pm
Conclusion? Get rid of all social media and start believing mainstream media? That’s is the whole point of people losing faith in society and politics. I use third party ‘non’ mainstream sources to have a wide view of what is truth and what is not. This guy is probably paid by mainstream media…..
@JohnDoe-mt2sy
July 21, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Deep fakes been around for ages, doesn’t change anything since idiots still thought bin laden was real and said what he did
@bestloop
July 21, 2025 at 7:09 pm
CAN’T AI JUST BE THOUGHT TO RECOGNISE THE PHYSICS AND GEOMETRY OF THE WORLD AND THUS, ALL THESE SIGNES SHOWN WILL SIMPLY VANISHED ?
@bencausey
July 21, 2025 at 7:20 pm
I’m glad he knows which news sources are reliable. Whew.
@justaghoulintheworld
July 21, 2025 at 7:25 pm
This guy doesn’t seem to realize the military has an intelligence unit which can also operate counterintelligence. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
@raphaellavictoria01
July 21, 2025 at 7:46 pm
We feel like people felt in the 1900s, when the first photographic pics became more common, and lots of people believed in seance “ectoplasma” and “dancing fairies” photos, because they had no real way to know.
@Smilequve
July 21, 2025 at 7:54 pm
Are you real or AI, Hany?
@SusieQ333
July 21, 2025 at 8:19 pm
I always look at the hands of people. Ai used to mess up. 😊
@ChantingInTheDark
July 21, 2025 at 8:22 pm
One of the most important TED talks of this time.
@peregrine1981
July 21, 2025 at 8:29 pm
Timestamp 9:42: this TED Talk was delivered to me via social media. Am I to disregard its informative value entirely? Thanks for wasting my time Silicon Valley.
@ronr5991
July 21, 2025 at 8:33 pm
Who cares? Its all an illusion.
@Kel-d7v
July 21, 2025 at 8:34 pm
So, he’s saying that this here video is the equivalent of junk food. Or was he talking about all social media except this one 😒
That there’s what ya call a hypocrite.
@peregrine1981
July 21, 2025 at 8:34 pm
Farid’s team should be working on an AI application to help Everyman detect AI-generated images. Fight fire with fire! Unless, of course, this entire TED Talk is AI-generated and Hany Farid (seems like an AI-generated name) is merely an amalgamation of digitally sourced points himself.
@pegm5937
July 21, 2025 at 8:39 pm
I realise the image was used as an example and for the larger theme, but just looking at that image told me it wasn’t real. Knowing that someone can objectively demonstrate why is cool to listen to❤
@MP-rp3kr
July 21, 2025 at 8:42 pm
The problem is media are not a form of information for a long time now, so thanks buddy, I pass. And funny enough, your message has been spread right now by social media…
@Max-dd7du
July 21, 2025 at 8:48 pm
Is legacy media a beacon of truth?
@SN-sz7kw
July 21, 2025 at 8:49 pm
I’m starting to get a feeling this will level out. AI for mass consumption is indeed junk food. It’s exhausting. Who wants to waste a lot of time trying to figure out if something is real? I quickly trash everything that has even a whiff of AI. Made by Human Intelligence is my favorite label now. I don’t want a home, mind, or even a computer jam packed with cheap, fake crap. Give me space, time, and authenticity. Life is too short to waste on digital bs. Want real news & information? Find professional journalists & experts you trust and stick with them. Take everything else with a grain of salt & consider motives.
@kevinim300
July 21, 2025 at 9:03 pm
i was thinking this bus needed to start backing up a while ago now. its kind of scary how much we are being fooled by so many things.
@nhansen197
July 21, 2025 at 9:05 pm
I knew that image was generated by AI before the explanation on how to tell. It’s too crisp. On the first glance it looks like it was done by a professional photographer. This is supposed to be a kidnapping. Kidnappers don’t typically have professional level photographers. My second clue, it’s supposed to be a kidnapping, but we don’t get to see the faces so we don’t know who it’s supposed to be. My third, and possibly the most important clue is urgency. If I ran across this in the wild as in showing up in one of my many direct messaging aps, or in my e-mail I’d know it was a scam because they are attempting to elicit an emotion, and trying to get me to act without thinking it through. The perpetrator doesn’t want someone taking their time to really look at the photo, because if we look long enough little inconsistencies will start to pop out at us.
@kevinim300
July 21, 2025 at 9:14 pm
great advice. definitely not the point of the video though. 😀
@Mrsbehavin59
July 21, 2025 at 9:17 pm
So true – social media is – just that JUNK FOOD.
@SkyVega-lp7rq
July 21, 2025 at 9:17 pm
First call? Call the soldiers?
@axelastori484
July 22, 2025 at 4:43 pm
12:20 it’s finally possible!
@pipipip815
July 22, 2025 at 4:44 pm
“Social media is not the place to get your news and information”…”like any bad habit it is something you should quit”. 💯👍🏼
@festerbestertester1658
July 22, 2025 at 5:13 pm
I just used social media to tell me why I shouldn’t trust social media.
@romansaakov7081
July 22, 2025 at 5:17 pm
One of the things I hate the most is the LIE, whatever it may be.
@lindamaclaren1866
July 22, 2025 at 5:38 pm
Yeah, I doubted the picture of a dozen cars floating in a flooded river…and they didn’t have a spot of water on their hoods. Other clues throughout YouTube are just as obvious. But I’m certain some AI gets past me…probably a lot of it. I really hate this trend. Soon people we trust will be turned into AI and spouting all sorts of nonsense. Of course, YouTube is “pure truth” — right? Nah, you’ll never get me to buy that idea! It’s entertainment, and that’s all! Yeah, and what Hany Farid says about where we get our truths is important. Everything else is just entertainment, and I include YouTube in that category. It can be a good source of information (like Mr. Farid) but it can also spread disinformation to its viewers.
@vgrindheim
July 22, 2025 at 5:39 pm
I watched this on YouTube, so I guess I shouldn’t trust it then. Must be a fake video.
@TheBigBlueMarble
July 22, 2025 at 5:45 pm
Social medai and journalism are merging. Simply saying that social media is not a place to get your information is no longer good advice. It would be better to say, do not immediately trust what you get from social media. Verify and validate using multiple sources if you have any reason to doubt the accuracy of what you are seeing and reading. That should not only apply to social media, but to any source of information.
@bharadrm
July 22, 2025 at 5:50 pm
“Global war for TRUTH”….
@powerspeakingpro6606
July 22, 2025 at 5:53 pm
Main stream media is also not a place to get truthful information.
@fray6258
July 22, 2025 at 6:14 pm
We’ve been betrayed. On SO many levels.
@PauxloE
July 22, 2025 at 6:14 pm
So what do we learn if we want to fake such a photo? Don’t just do it in 2D, actually set up a 3D scene with proper lighting, then render it.
@mstina7346
July 22, 2025 at 6:21 pm
I am watching you, sir, on YouTube. Is that considered social media?
@LindaClements-o8k
July 22, 2025 at 6:24 pm
Excellent talk – informative, empowering, inspiring. Thank you.
@SSi-nq3rt
July 22, 2025 at 6:28 pm
Well, good one, however, proven with this movie, that other than he mentioned, social media can be a good source of trouth (like this one here). You just have to check the channel as well as sometimes think twice. By the way, since humen share information, one has to consider if what was said can be true,
@DavidHarvey-po9le
July 22, 2025 at 6:37 pm
You’ve just told AI how to defeat you – well done – in the name of fame and power – FOR YOURSELF!
@blschafer4310
July 22, 2025 at 7:06 pm
AI is a fast learner. Its moved past 7 fingers on a hand to more and more realistic images. And will take the info from this video and incorporate it into future images.
@GregHassler
July 22, 2025 at 7:07 pm
At this point social media is more reliable and truthful than traditional media, let’s be real. “Fact checkers” are really just people figuring out how to add bias and slant a story.
@megsman4749
July 22, 2025 at 7:12 pm
Three. At least three credible sources.
@wildcardjoker
July 22, 2025 at 7:14 pm
In time ai will figure out these mistakes then what ?
@JeroenErven
July 22, 2025 at 7:21 pm
Good thing is I have quit using social media completely 3 years ago. One of the best choices I made in the past years. It’s really enlightening and giving a lot more piece in the head. The only social media I am using still is youtube just for convenience. I can recommend to anyone to quit it too.
@itsmeagain8518
July 22, 2025 at 7:24 pm
Apparently, the mainstream media is also not a place to get honest news and information.
@SouthAfricanJuanita
July 22, 2025 at 7:42 pm
Whatever, give us back independent journalists… stop paid-for media. Stay off x 😂😂😂??? I don’t even watch X. Another plant people…
@thewayofbiutze3899
July 22, 2025 at 7:49 pm
if it is on the screen it is fake. Period.
@PoliticallyIncorrect14u
July 22, 2025 at 8:39 pm
In reading many of the comments, I think one thing we all kinda miss is the fact we’ve gotten so lazy, that we don’t make use of almost any critical thinking. I have content here on YT that did NOT have the AI or ‘synthetic’ warning on it, but it was SOooooo blatantly obvious that you’d hafta be dumb as a stick to think it’s real ! They clickbait you, and you start watching. You ‘should’ be able to tell in 30 seconds or less if it’s bogus ! Speech is one of the biggest tells for me at least. I also find a number of AIs have trouble rendering complex hand movements, or even any hand movement at all ! I watched one that was really good, other than the guy sitting at the table, NEVER moved his hands one bit, nor did he ever breathe, and he never shifted in the chair ! There are certain human give aways that if you can’t pick them off and know what you’re watching is fake, you better turn off your computer and go sit for hours on end and just observe people and the nuances of being human, and not a synth !!
@brokenrecord3523
July 22, 2025 at 8:42 pm
Half the people out there, in the US anyway, don’t care what is real.