Know the enemy
Different fakes need different verification methods. Let us cover the main types and where they usually appear.
1. Synthetic text
Fake news, fake reviews, "life stories", mass comments. Signs: no verifiable sources, emotional, "too smooth and generic".
2. Generated photos
People who do not exist (for fake profiles), "event photos" that never happened. Signs: oddities in details — hands, teeth, text on signs, background.
3. Deepfake video
The face and expressions of a real person saying what they never said. Signs: lip-sync mismatch, unnatural blinking, light.
4. Voice clone
Voice calls "from a loved one" or "your boss". Signs: urgency, a request for money/codes, reluctance for you to call back.
I was sent a shocking "news photo". How do I know if it is real?
Do not rush to share. Check: do major outlets have it, do a reverse image search, look at details (hands, text, background). We will go step by step in the next lessons.
Each type of fake has its own signs. Later in the course — concrete ways to verify each.
🧠 What to look at in a suspicious generated photo?