Images generated with artificial intelligence were once easy to call out due to alien-like facial features, anatomical mistakes, or garbled lettering. Yet, text-to-image platforms like Midjourney and DALL-E are evolving. They can now help everyone from pranksters to criminals create realistic images in order to dupe people, steal money, or spread misinformation that even experts might struggle to debunk. While many creators might generate images with harmless intentions, the “photos” are easy to share with incorrect context, making them go viral across nations and social media platforms.
Here is a collection of ten AI generated images that have been used for everything from harmless entertainment to spreading hate. We look at some tell-tale signs of their machine origins and some markers that readers can use to flag such photos in the future.
1. Turkey/Syria earthquake relief
This is an easy AI-generated image to identify, thanks to its unnatural painted effect that smoothens details and flaws that would be visible in a real photo. If that is not evidence enough, the rescuer’s strange earlobe, the perfectly visible Turkey flag on the child’s sleeve, and an incorrectly proportioned hand with a missing thumb knuckle are other giveaways.
Turkey/Syria Earthquake Relief | Photo Credit: Image by Panagiotis Kotridis; border and AI identification added on Canva
2. The Pope in a puffy coat
This image of a fashionably attired Pope went viral online even though it was quickly dismissed as being AI-generated, due to its improbable nature. Context clues—such as people doing out-of-character things—can help users flag photos as being AI-generated. The Pope’s missing crucifix chain on one side, the warped fingers, and the deformed spectacles further confirm this is an AI-generated image.
The Pope in a puffy coat | Photo Credit: Image by Pablo Xavier; border and AI identification added on Canva
3. Elon Musk in a puffy coat
Playing off the Pope’s popularity, former Twitter CEO and billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared a photo of himself in a similar white puffy coat. Here, the lack of Mr. Musk’s reflection on the glass panes behind him and the overly smooth quality of his face both reveal the photo’s AI-generated roots. Most candid photographs shot outdoors with cameras will expose facial details such as wrinkles, moles, pits, scars, or pores, since the sun usually illuminates the skin unevenly.
Elon Musk in a puffy coat | Photo Credit: Tweeted by @elonmusk; Border and AI identification added on Canva
Also read: ChatGPT and the future of journalism
4. Donald Trump’s arrest
This arrest photo made with Midjourney is quite convincing at first glance and was retweeted thousands of times on Twitter even as a Community Notes clarification was added. Though misleading at first glance, it reveals some trademark AI tells. One of the police officers has only four fingers and the thumb appears to have been chopped off. Another finger is distorted. One officer has a double-headed pen, and both officers with pens seem to have clipped them to the top of the pocket flap—a physical impossibility—instead of inside the pocket itself. The most obvious detail, however, is a leg in the middle of the image which does not seem to belong to anyone in particular.
Donald Trump’s arrest | Photo Credit: Image by @EliotHiggins on Twitter; Border and AI identification added on Canva
5. Donald Trump’s arrest, continued
Another arrest photo shows Mr. Trump being carried and dragged away by police officers. It was also generated by the creator of the earlier picture (who has since been banned from Midjourney, he said). You can see a distortion of the legs, one uncannily blurred face that seems to be wearing a fur hat, and a strange warping of fabric near Mr. Trump’s face.
Donald Trump’s Arrest, continued | Photo Credit: Image by @EliotHiggins on Twitter; border and AI identification added on Canva
6. Tesla CEO and GM CEO as a couple
This paparazzi-style couple’s photo pictured Tesla CEO Elon Musk and GM CEO Mary Barra making their way outside together. Mr. Musk declared the photo was fake, pointing out that he would never dress in such a manner; he generally opts for full casuals or formal wear. Apart from context, however, clues such as strangely shaped faces in the background, a man whose spectacle frames aren’t sitting properly on his face, and Ms. Barra’s partially missing thumb make this one easy to categorise as an AI-generated image.
Tesla CEO and GM CEO as a couple | Photo Credit: Image by @blovereviews on Twitter; Border and AI identification added on Canva
7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a police officer
The clearest sign of an AI-generated image is a watermark visible to the human eye, as seen in this picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a police officer. Another common tell is the overly smooth skin and the dotted appearance of facial hair which makes the subject look almost doll-like. Additionally, the badge on Modi’s chest has no real letters or numbers in it, but rather a garbled AI-generated approximation of the writing generally found on police badges.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a police officer | Photo Credit: Image by sahixd on Instagram; border and AI identification added on Canva
8. AI-generated Islamophobia
The following set of images seemingly depict two revered Islamic figures and were used to hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community. The account which posted them on Twitter admitted they were AI-generated, but the images were still retweeted hundreds of times. Some major signs of their AI origins include partially missing digits or entirely mismatched hands. Also note the figure in the background of the image on the right, holding what appears to be a large stick in an unnatural manner.
AI-generated Islamophobia | Photo Credit: Image by @wokeflix on Twitter; border and AI identification added on Canva
9. PM Narendra Modi at a party
While this image could easily be mistaken for a photo taken at a real cultural gala or a diplomatic summit, the watermark, which does not belong to a major news agency, raises suspicions about the image. Add to that the unnaturally smooth skin of the main subject, and several hands with partially or totally missing fingers.
PM Narendra Modi at a party | Photo Credit: Image by sahixd on Instagram; border and AI identification added on Canva
10. President Joe Biden in the rain
This image was shared on Twitter alongside a false news update claiming that President Joe Biden suffered a fall due to the rain. However, the fact that the image is AI-generated is obvious from the sight of Mr. Biden falling or kneeling on a rainy street without the presence of bodyguards or officials to help him up. The curiously shrivelled thumb on his right hand is another distinct giveaway—something you can call out yourself from now on, without the help of a reverse image search or an AI-image identifier.
President Joe Biden in the rain | Photo Credit: Image by @NinjaPotts on Twitter; border and AI identification added on Canva
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