What does your social media algorithm show you? Maybe it’s news about the war in Iran, or maybe it’s lifestyle influencers or cute adoptable pets. We’re not here to judge! But no matter what type of content you’re scrolling through on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram or other social media, chances are you’re using it as an opportunity to zone out and relax rather than really thinking critically about what you’re seeing.
There’s a problem, though: Many social media platforms are now flooded with AI-generated content. And while it might not seem to matter if there’s really a dog shelter where the pets choose their new owners, it could pose a much bigger disinfo challenge if false claims spread that a U.S. military base was bombed in the Middle East. What’s more, once synthetic media becomes abundant, studies show that people stop trusting even verified video.
While early AI dupes could be spotted by their obvious mistakes, they’re becoming almost impossible to discern — the Global Investigative Journalism Network notes that methods of detection that worked just a few years ago are now obsolete.
THR scouted out 10 posts on various accounts, ranging from lifestyle tips to wartime disasters. Can you tell which ones are real and which are created by AI? Watch each video and take your guess, then check your answers to see how you score.
1 Influencer Nara Smith
2 Influencer Shudu Gram
3 Kids Say the Darndest Things
4 Jiu-Jitsu Practitioner vs. Bodybuilder
5 The Benefits of Tai Chi
6 Comedian and Influencer Quenlin Blackwell
7 The Shelter Where Dogs Choose Their New Owners
8 An Iranian Strike on a Fuel Storage Facility in Bahrain
9 A Missile Strike by Iran in Tel Aviv
10 Granny Spills at Coachella
Answer Key
1 Nara Smith: Real
While it might be hard to imagine spending that much time to make a French dip, Smith is indeed a real person, and was even named to THR’s list of the 50 hottest influencers last fall. She brings a glam vibe to documenting her life, featuring made-from-scratch meals and other lifestyle content. She has 12.4 million followers on TikTok and 4.8 million on Instagram.
2 Shudu Gram: AI-Generated
Shudu Gram is known as the world’s first digital supermodel and was created in 2017. With nearly 240,000 followers, she’s done collaborations with luxury fashion brands like Balmain (which is real).
3 Kids: AI-Generated
This video of kids expressing confusion about how their new baby sibling was duplicated, and toddlers throwing a tantrum because they feel duped, is itself a dupe. This and other videos like it have been making the rounds lately, using tricks for clicks.
4 Jiu-Jitsu: Real
This video was posted by Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Apple Valley, a location of a well-known jiu-jitsu network led by Rener and Ryron Gracie, to show the power of the martial art.
5 Tai Chi: AI-Generated
We are sorry to report that, while tai chi has plenty of benefits, it can’t give you rock-hard abs in 28 days. Many tai chi teachers and practitioners have called out videos like this one, which promise unrealistic and quick results. That’s the hook that often leads to a link to a subscription service that turns out to be costly and/or deceptive.
6 Quenlin Blackwell: Real
Blackwell is a real-life Gen Z influencer, who started out doing Vine videos and has since amassed more than 13 million followers on TikTok and 4.4 million on Instagram. She’s a comedian and model who also posts fashion and lifestyle content (including a recent MAC collab). And she was one of THR’s 50 hottest influencers. It looks almost too good to be true though, huh?
7 Shelter Pets: AI-Generated
Videos like this had a moment not too long ago, so don’t feel bad if you saw one and were fooled. Bridget Moynahan reposted this example with an explanation that it was created using Sora 2, but many of her followers commented that they were disappointed when they realized it wasn’t genuine. In happier news, one Pennsylvania shelter did re-create the AI-initiated trend, as Newsweek reported.
8 Bahrain Missile Strike: Real
Though the BBC and others have noted an uptick in AI-generated videos purporting to show attacks throughout the Middle East during the U.S. war in Iran, this video was posted by CNN, which gives its source as the Bahrain National Communication Center. The Global Investigative Journalism Network posted this guide for how to detect AI-generated content online. It’s meant for journalists, but it’s useful for anyone who’s concerned they might be viewing AI-altered content.
9 Tel Aviv Missile Strike: AI-Generated
This widely circulated video has been debunked by The New York Times. Among the potential giveaways is that the video features a flag in the foreground, a common feature of AI videos set in Israel. The Times also notes that real videos are usually more subdued, “shot from far away, typically at night.”
10 Granny Spills: AI-Generated
Influencers, both real and AI, descended upon Coachella this year. Among the most entertaining of the AI set was Granny Spills, who posted pictures “with” celebrities from Justin Bieber to Billie Eilish and Sabrina Carpenter, as well as videos of her taking the fest by storm. The Blur Studios creation has 2 million Instagram followers.
This story appears in The Hollywood Reporter’s AI Issue. Click here to read more.
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