How to Spot a Deepfake Video of a Politician or Celebrity
You see a video of a famous politician saying something shocking, or a celebrity endorsing a strange new product. It looks real, but something in your gut feels a little off—and these days, that instinct is more important than ever.
The solution isn't to stop trusting everything you see, but to learn the simple "tells" that fake videos can't hide yet. Just like you can spot a bad wig or a painted backdrop in an old movie, you can learn to spot the digital seams in a deepfake. It’s easier than you might think, and you don’t need any special technology to do it.
Imagine you are watching a news clip on social media. The person speaking looks exactly like the President, but their voice sounds a tiny bit robotic, or they never seem to blink. This is a classic example of a deepfake—a video created by a computer to look like a real person.
Step 1: Watch the Eyes Closely The eyes are often the biggest giveaway in a fake video. When humans talk, we blink naturally and frequently, usually every few seconds. Computer-generated faces often forget this simple human habit, or they do it strangely.
Stare right at the person's eyes for the first ten seconds of the video. Are they staring unblinkingly for a long time? When they do blink, does it look like a quick, unnatural flutter? Also, look at where they are looking. In real videos, eye movements match what the person is saying or doing. In deepfakes, the gaze can feel "dead" or unfocused, like they are looking through you rather than at the camera. If the eyes feel soulless, trust that feeling.
Step 2: Check the Lips and Mouth Matching the movement of lips to the sound of words is one of the hardest things for AI to get perfect. Think of it like a poorly dubbed foreign movie where the mouth keeps moving after the audio stops.
Turn the volume up and watch the mouth shape carefully. Does the mouth look blurry when they speak fast? Do the lips close all the way when they say words with "B" or "P" sounds? Sometimes, a deepfake mouth will look like it is floating slightly on top of the face, or the teeth might look like a solid white bar instead of individual teeth. If the audio feels just a fraction of a second off from the visual, or if the mouth movements look "mushy," you are likely watching a fake.
Step 3: Look for "Glitches" at the Edges Computers have a hard time blending the fake face with the real background. This usually creates strange, blurry spots around the edges of the person, almost like a bad cutout in a scrapbook.
Focus your attention on the hairline, the ears, and the neck. Does the hair look blurry or flicker when they move their head? Is the skin on the face a slightly different color than the skin on the neck or hands? Often, if the person turns their head to the side, the digital mask will "slip" for a split second, showing a glitch or a blur. Jewelry and glasses are also great clues—light often reflects off them incorrectly in fake videos, or they might disappear and reappear mysteriously.
Step 4: Verify the Source Before Sharing Even if a video passes your visual inspection, the most important safety tool you have is a brief pause. As we mention in AI for Boomers, scammers rely on your emotional reaction to make you act fast without thinking.
Before you share that shocking video or get angry about what a politician "said," check where the video came from. Is it from a major news network you recognize, or a random account with a strange name? Go to Google and search for the headline. If a world leader really said something crazy, every news outlet would be covering it. If the only place you can find it is on a random Facebook feed, it is almost certainly a fabrication.
You don't need to be a tech expert to stay safe; you just need to be observant. These tools are getting better, but your human intuition is still the best defense.
The next time you see a video that makes you feel strong emotion—fear, anger, or excitement—stop and look at the eyes and mouth before you hit "share."