Not sure if you’re looking at a legitimate picture on the internet? Altered images and deepfakes abound on the web, especially with the creative help of AI. Here are some tools that might help in detecting manipulated photos:
AI Detection Tools
AI-generated content may be easy for some to spot. Look closely and you may see 7 fingers or an extra shoelace as giveaways. But some AI images are so well-crafted that they may fool even the sharpest observer. AI detection tools can sometimes help; here are some free websites you might try:
Hive Moderation, scroll down and use the Upload button to submit a picture file.
Please note that not all detectors work the same, and you may get mixed or incorrect results. AI image detection tools are not (yet?) 100% reliable. Also, I am only linking to free tools. I have avoided paid tools and websites that demand user accounts.
Reverse Image Search Tools
Sometimes, you can extrapolate an image’s legitimacy, simply by knowing where it came from. Performing a reverse-image-search may quickly show you where an image has been on the internet. From that info, you might deduce that it is real or fake. So, save or copy any photo that you’re wondering about, and submit it to one of these search tools:
At the end of the Google and Bing search bars is an icon that looks like a camera. Use that to submit your saved photo.
Some developers have created browser extensions to help with this. If you install one of these extensions, you can then right-click an internet image and get an option to reverse-search the picture through many sites at once!
Search by Image for Firefox, Search by Image for Chrome
Fast Image Research for Chrome
RevEye for Firefox, RevEye for Chrome
Miscellany
Some websites are resistant to your saving a copy of their pictures. If a website won’t allow you to right-click and save something as a JPG, consider taking a screenshot. Any screen capture can be saved and cropped and then submitted to these tools’ websites.
If a questionable image is accompanied by some text, you may want to search out that text or content elsewhere, on fact-checking websites:
Factcheck by AFP
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