How to Tell If a Photo Was Made by AI

AI-generated images are becoming harder to spot, but there are specific signs to look for — and free tools that can help detect them automatically.

In this guide (4 steps):

1.Look at the hands and fingers first
2.Check the background and edges
3.Do a reverse image search
4.Use AI detection tools

Look at the hands and fingers first

~29s

AI image generators historically struggle with hands and fingers. Look for: extra fingers (six fingers on a hand), missing fingers, fingers that bend the wrong way, fingers that merge together or fade at the tips, or hands that look waxy or rubbery. While AI tools have improved significantly, close inspection of hands still reveals flaws in many AI images. Zoom in on any person's hands in a suspicious photo.

Quick Tip

Also look at teeth — AI often produces too many, oddly shaped, or glowing white teeth in portrait images.

Check the background and edges

~28s

AI images often have inconsistencies at the edges of objects or where two surfaces meet. Look for: hair that looks painted on or has no individual strands, glasses that do not match the shape of the face, backgrounds that are blurry in an unnaturally uniform way (like all the background is equally blurred at the same depth), text in the background that is garbled or nonsensical (AI cannot generate coherent readable text in images), and objects that seem to merge into each other or into the background.

Do a reverse image search

~27s

Google can search by image rather than words. On your phone: go to images.google.com, tap the camera icon, and upload the image or paste its URL. Google will show you where else the image appears online. If the photo claims to be a real person or recent event but appears on an AI image generator's website or in unrelated contexts, it is likely fake. On iPhone and Android, you can also press and hold an image in Chrome to "Search image with Google."

Use AI detection tools

~36s

Several free websites analyze whether an image was likely AI-generated: Hive Moderation (free.hivemoderation.com) — paste an image URL or upload a file for an AI-generated probability score. AI or Not (aiornot.com) — upload an image to get a verdict. These tools are not 100% accurate, but a high probability score is a strong signal to investigate further before sharing. News organizations and fact-checkers use these tools to verify images before publishing.

Warning

Even experienced researchers sometimes cannot tell AI from real with certainty. When in doubt, do not share an image that might be fake — especially around news events or political topics. One shared fake image can spread misinformation to hundreds of people quickly.

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AI image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion can create photorealistic images of people, places, and events that never happened. These images are used in scams (fake profiles on dating and social apps), political disinformation, and click-bait news. Knowing the tell-tale signs of AI-generated images — and knowing which tools can help identify them — is a practical media literacy skill for 2026.

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