I've been reporting on AI for a year and a half now. Throughout that time, I’ve regularly visited Reddit's r/isthisAI community. This is where people share suspicious photos, videos and messages and ask other users to help them work out whether they're real or AI-generated.
I find it fascinating to see where AI is showing up in everyday life. But some of the posts are also pretty worrying. I've seen people questioning whether photos of damage to rental properties have been faked, whether someone their relative is dating actually exists, whether an ultrasound is real or whether the adorable puppy they're about to buy is just an illusion.
Of course, scams and deception like these have been around for years. But what's worrying is how AI can make them much both easier to pull off and harder to spot. I became so interested in this that I even ran my own series of tests, trying to create fake certificates, fossils and receipts to see whether ChatGPT would stop me. Most of the time, it didn’t.
While plenty of us have got used to questioning what we see online, not everyone knows just how convincing AI-generated content has become. That might be particularly true of friends and family who are less familiar with the technology.
So I've picked out some of the most worrying examples I've come across, along with a few practical ways to protect yourself and the people you care about. Because I think we could all benefit from knowing a little more about how AI can be used to deceive us.
1. Rental property damage
I've seen quite a few posts questioning whether AI has been used to fake damage to rental properties, like cracked floor tiles, stained rugs and, most recently, an overflowing toilet.
The concern is that landlords or holiday rental hosts could use manipulated photos to claim that guests and renters have caused damage and demand money to cover repairs.
Some of the examples I've seen are surprisingly convincing and I think the reason they're so difficult to spot is that much of the surrounding room looks perfectly normal. It's only the supposed damage that's suspicious.
I recommend taking plenty of photos when you arrive at a holiday rental, and again before you leave. That way, if you're ever accused of causing damage you don't recognize, you've got your own evidence to back you up.
2. Fake notices, warnings and announcements
I've seen a lot of suspicious notices circulating online over the past few months. Everything from warnings supposedly issued by schools and councils to missing pet posters and strange announcements pinned to noticeboards.
Granted, I've also seen plenty of bizarre notices in the wild that are real. But AI makes it incredibly easy to create convincing fakes and even the little details that might once have given them away, like handwritten text, marker pen or crumpled paper, are becoming more realistic.
The problem is that these notices often look like something someone has photographed them in passing, which can make them feel more authentic too. This notice about a drinking bottle is one example that really stumped Reddit for a while but turned out to be AI.
If you see an alarming warning or announcement, especially one that's being widely shared on social media, try to find its original source first. If it claims to come from a school, council or organization, then check whether they've published it through their official channels.
3. Real-world events
This is one of the most disturbing uses of AI-generated imagery I've come across recently. We've all seen fake images of things that never happened. But I've also noticed more images and videos circulating that claim to show events that genuinely took place.
Which I think makes them particularly misleading. Someone might check whether an incident really happened, find that it did, so then they'd assume the accompanying photos must be authentic too. One particularly upsetting example involved AI-generated images claiming to show a tragic incident at a Yorkshire wildlife park. These images can spread quickly because they're attached to stories people are already interested in.
If you come across dramatic images of a breaking news story, check whether they're being used by reputable news organizations or have been published by an official source. And remember that confirming an event happened doesn't automatically confirm that every photo or video claiming to show it is real.
4. Romance scams
This is one of the most upsetting sort of scams I've noticed on r/isthisAI. People regularly post photographs of someone their parent, grandparent or other relative has met online, asking whether the person actually exists. There are people worried about their aunts, their dads and their friends' grandparents.
A familiar pattern is someone claiming to work overseas or travel constantly, often with a convincing looking photo at an airport or in a workplace. Eventually, there tends to be a medical emergency or a problem accessing money so they ask for financial help.
Of course, romance scams have existed for decades. But AI-generated photos, messages and even video can give scammers more ways to build a believable identity. The difficult part is that people can become very emotionally invested in these relationships. Being told that someone they've fallen for might not exist can be incredibly painful and I’ve been surprised to read anecdotes of people still not believing their concerned loved ones even when they’re shown irrefutable evidence.
If you're worried about a friend or relative, try to approach the conversation gently. Encourage them to verify the person's identity independently, be wary of excuses for never meeting in person and, above all, never send money to someone whose identity they can't establish.
5. Pet scams
Who doesn't love an adorable puppy photo? And that's exactly why these scams can be so effective. I've seen people on Reddit questioning whether photographs of dogs they're thinking of buying are AI-generated. In one example, someone was worried their mother was being scammed. In another, someone was trying to buy a puppy through Facebook but they were concerned some of the details in photos of the cute little guy didn’t quite add up.
The danger is that a realistic-looking photograph can help convince someone that a puppy exists and is available to buy, even when the seller isn't legitimate. Scammers might then ask for deposits or delivery fees before disappearing.
For me, this is an important point to get across to friends and family. Rather than focusing entirely on spotting telltale details in AI-generated images, look at what someone is asking you to do. Are they demanding money upfront and inventing reasons for extra charges? They should raise major red flags.
Always try to see a puppy in person before paying, and check the seller's credentials. A convincing photo, no matter how cute, isn’t a guarantee that an animal is available to buy. It’s not even a guarantee that it exists.
6. Scoring political points with misinformation
I'd hope most people are now aware that AI-generated images are often used to spread political misinformation. But judging by some of the things that still circulate on social media, there's plenty of reason to be concerned.
I've seen posts questioning whether political images are genuine, including this example shared by an Ohio conservative political action committee's Facebook page.
These images can be particularly effective when they reinforce something that someone already believes. Which means that if a picture appears to confirm your opinion of a politician, protest or political movement, you might be less inclined to question it.
My advice is to be especially suspicious of images that provoke an immediate emotional reaction, whether that's outrage, fear or even satisfaction. Look for the original source, check whether credible news organizations have verified the claim and resist the temptation to share something simply because it seems believable.
7. Fake documents, like medical photos, receipts and plane tickets
Another category I've noticed involves people questioning whether documents or photographs have been created to support a lie. For example, one Reddit user asked whether their ex had used AI to create a fake plane ticket and another wanted to know if an ultrasound had been faked with AI.
This is particularly interesting to me because I ran my own experiment to see whether ChatGPT would help me create fake evidence, including receipts and certificates. And in many cases, it did.
Documents that once might have required some really good Photoshop skills can now be much easier to fabricate. And as AI gets better at producing convincing text and layouts, spotting a fake simply by looking at it is becoming way less reliable.
If someone sends you a document as proof of something important, think about whether there's another way to verify it. For example, a booking reference may be something you can check directly with the relevant company. And a photograph of a medical document should never be treated as definitive proof of someone's health or circumstances either.
How to check if something is AI
We've got a more in-depth guide to spotting convincing AI images, deepfakes and scams, but there are a few simple things worth remembering.
Firstly, you can try reverse image searching suspicious photos with Google Lens. You can also check where a story or image originally came from and verify any claims through independent sources.
There are also tools that can help. Google recently expanded access to its SynthID Detector, which can identify invisible watermarks in AI-generated content from some AI tools, but not all of them. Just remember that if it doesn't detect a watermark, that doesn't necessarily mean something is real either.
But I think the most useful thing we can teach our friends and family is to look beyond whether something looks like AI and ask a more important question: What is someone trying to get me to believe or do?
Because whether it's a fake puppy or an urgent request for money from an attractive stranger, that's often the biggest warning sign. And the one we should pay the most attention to as it becomes even harder to distinguish what’s AI from what’s real.
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