Real · AI · Altered · Misleading
Can you tell what’s real?
The internet is getting harder to believe. Play the weekly round, or check the thing you just saw.
How we answer
Not just ‘does it look real?’ Where did it come from?
We trace things back to where they started: the original source, the maker, official records. How something looks is shown, never relied on.
- REALGenuine, and the story holds up
- AI-MADECreated by a machine
- ALTEREDA real thing, edited
- MISLEADINGReal, with the wrong story
- FALSEMade up, or a scam
- UNKNOWNNot enough evidence, and we say so
Latest checks
Going round right now.
- AI-MADEA woman in a white leotard waves to a crowd as she walks along a sandy walkway at a beach eventPicture shared on X · Checked 22 October
- AI-MADEA figure flies through the air from a roller coaster, shared as the Goliath accident at Six Flags Over GeorgiaPicture shared on TikTok · Checked 22 October
- AI-MADEClips said to show Volodymyr Zelenskyy belly dancingPicture shared on X · Checked 22 October
- AI-MADETwo Walmart receipts comparing the price of the same shopping in 2002 and 2026Picture shared on Instagram · Checked 22 October
- AI-MADEA plane explodes on the tarmac after a missile hits it, shared as an attack on Riyadh's main airportPicture shared on X · Checked 22 October
- MISLEADINGA rider climbs out of a roller coaster car at the top of a hill, shared as the Six Flags Over Georgia accidentPicture shared on X · Checked 22 October
Scam patterns
Scams circulating now.
Fake election campaigns ask for donations, 'investments' and voter details
Scammers pretend to be US midterm candidates, campaigns or officials to take money or personal details. Campaign donations are never an investment, and you can check any committee on the FEC website.
Published 22 October 2026 · Read more ↗SCAM WARNINGScam?FALSEFirms on the FCA's warning list still advertise investments and insurance on social media
Which? found adverts from firms the Financial Conduct Authority has warned about on Facebook, Instagram, Google and TikTok. Seeing an advert on a big platform does not mean the firm is genuine: check the FCA warning list first.
Published 14 October 2026 · Read more ↗SCAM WARNINGScam?FALSEHealth product adverts falsely claim backing from Boots, NHS hospitals and charities
Social media adverts for dental, weight-loss and asthma products use the names and logos of trusted British bodies that have nothing to do with them. Check claims on the organisation's own website before you buy.
Published 14 October 2026 · Read more ↗Common scams, and the giveaway for each
Parcel delivery textsIs this parcel delivery text a scam?
The link is not the delivery company's real website, and there is a tight deadline.
Your bank's "fraud team" callsIs my bank really calling? The "safe account" scam
A real bank will never ask you to move money to keep it safe.
Tax refunds, fines and road tollsTax refund, fine or road toll text: is it a scam?
Tax offices and councils do not send links asking for bank details by text.
Celebrity investment advertsCelebrity investment advert: is it a scam?
Huge or guaranteed returns and a famous face. Videos can now be faked with AI.Illustrations made with an AI image tool. All 12 common scams ↗
How to check it yourself
Source first. Clues second.
Where something came from decides the answer. How it looks only tells you where to dig.
1 Find where it came from Decides the answer
How to reverse-search a picture
A step-by-step guide to finding where a picture came from, using free tools such as Google Lens and TinEye, on a phone or a computer.Read the guide ↗
Who posted it first? Tracing a picture to its source
Most fakes fall apart when you find the first person who posted them. How to trace a picture or clip back, and what to ask when you get there.Read the guide ↗2 Then look for clues Clues, not proof
Hands and faces: where AI still slips up on people
Hands, teeth, ears and glasses.
Text and signs: why the writing gives it away
Signs, labels and number plates.
Real but weird: real photos people swear are fake
Real photos that look too strange.
How to spot an AI video
Length, movement and sound.
Backgrounds, shadows and physics: the parts AI neglects
Shadows, reflections and joins.Illustrations made with an AI image tool.
About Another AI Lie
Evidence before belief.
We help people check suspicious messages, adverts, viral pictures and videos before they believe or share them. We say what can be established, how it was checked and where the evidence stops.