5 Tips to Help Spot Fake AI-Generated Content
AI-generated videos have exploded in recent times, blurring the lines between real and fake. To avoid being fooled, here are some simple tips to help you distinguish trustworthy content.
As AI advances at breakneck speed, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell what’s real and what’s fake online. Not just still images, but AI-generated videos are also exploding thanks to tools like OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo. This makes distinguishing fact from fiction a major challenge.
Currently, AI-generated video detection software is limited, with the exception of tools focused on detecting deepfakes. So we are largely forced to rely on our own observation skills and intuition. Here are some key signs that can help people recognize an AI-generated fake video.
1. AI-generated fake videos often don't follow the laws of physics
One of the easiest ways to spot a fake AI-generated video is to see if it obeys the laws of physics. In the real world, glasses don’t levitate, liquids don’t pass through solid objects, but with OpenAI’s Sora, these absurdities can happen.
Even OpenAI admits that Sora doesn’t accurately simulate basic interactions like broken glass. When watching videos, pay close attention to both the main action and the background details to spot any anomalies.
Also, listen to your intuition. If something feels “off”—even if you can’t quite put it into words—it could be a sign that the video was generated by AI.
2. Observe carefully the reactions of the world around you.
The reaction of the surrounding world is also an important sign to recognize AI videos. In real life, taking a bite of an apple should make the piece disappear, but in Sora's world, that is not necessarily the case.
OpenAI acknowledges that interactions like eating sometimes don’t produce the exact same change in the state of the object. So when watching a video, you need to pay attention not only to the action but also to the reaction that comes with it, that is, the physical consequences, the changes in the environment or the object.
For example, a person walks on sand but leaves no new footprints or water is spilled on the floor but the floor remains dry, without any stains.
3. See anything unusual in the video?
Have you ever watched a video and felt “something is wrong” but couldn’t immediately put your finger on it? That’s a common experience when watching AI-generated videos.
The anomalies can be obvious, but sometimes it’s just a fleeting, vague detail that makes you stop and ask yourself: “What moment made me feel uncomfortable?” It’s these small details that often reveal inconsistencies in the operating logic of the virtual world that AI has built.
For example, in one video, we see a human hand carefully painting a cherry blossom branch. The brush strokes move continuously, the picture gradually appears, but strangely, the color of the strokes suddenly changes, even though the brush has never been dipped back into the palette. This is a typical example of “subtle errors” that viewers need to be alert to notice.
4. Try “reverse tracing” by recreating the video
Another approach to help users assess the authenticity of AI-generated videos is to try “backtracking” by recreating the video.
Enthusiasts of the text-to-image tool Midjourney experimented with a “reverse-tracing” approach. They closely observed videos generated by Sora, then rewrote descriptions that were close to the original footage and fed them into the Midjourney tool to generate still images.
The results showed that in many cases, Sora’s videos were just “moving Midjourney photos.” This shows the close connection between image generation and video generation models, and raises questions about Sora’s true level of creativity.
If you want to tap into more of your senses when analyzing a video, you can try something similar. Imagine the description you believe might be the scene, and run it through a text-to-image tool to see how similar it is.
Next, do a Google search to see if the footage comes from any public data. This method isn’t perfect, but it’s a useful “compass” when trying to determine whether you’re looking at a genuine video or an AI creation.
5. Always be alert and update your technology knowledge
AI technology to generate videos from text is still in its infancy, but its development is extremely rapid. In just a short time, AI models can create highly detailed videos that are difficult for viewers to distinguish between real and fake.
This means that the risk of being fooled by AI-generated content is increasing. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to learn to “evolve” with technology, which means staying updated with knowledge, monitoring new tools, and practicing image and audio analysis skills./.