7 Techniques To Spot A Deepfake

Have you ever received a message or had a digital interaction that felt off? Maybe a celebrity said something wildly out of character, or your boss called you with an urgent request, but the tone didn’t sit right.

It sounded real. It looked real. But something made you pause.

Enter the world of deepfakes. A deceptive form of AI-generated content, where AI is used to realistically manipulate video, audio, or images to make it seem like someone did or said something they didn't.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through 7 techniques to help you identify a deepfake, complete with real-world examples to so you can learn exactly what to look for.

1. Strange Eye Movement

Eyes can be a dead giveaway. In real footage, people blink naturally, look around, and shift focus. Deepfakes tend to struggle with replicating real eye behavior. Blinks can be too slow, too fast, or missing entirely. Sometimes the person stares straight ahead without any eye movement at all.

Another common issue is that the eye whites may glow or shift unnaturally. Lighting that doesn't match the environment or pupils that don't react to light changes can all indicate a fake.

2. Lip Sync Mismatch

You hear the words. You see the lips moving. But something feels off. Deepfakes often have difficulty matching words to lips and facial expressions. Sometimes it's subtle, a slight lag or unnatural mouth shape. Other times it's obvious, with syllables misaligned or entire words that don't sync.

Don't get me wrong, AI has gotten better, but natural speech involves micro-adjustments in lip, jaw, and cheek movement. When those don't line up with what you're hearing, your brain knows something's off.

3. Skin Texture & Lighting

Zoom in and you might notice something odd. Deepfake algorithms often struggle with fine skin details. Skin may appear too smooth or too perfect, like it's been airbrushed. You might notice blurring, flickering, or strange patches around the edges of the face. These small visual errors can show up especially near the hairline, ears, or jawline because these areas are harder for AI to render cleanly.

Now, not every smooth face is a red flag. Beauty filters and live stream touch-ups can also soften skin or even blur edges. But when these effects are paired with lighting glitches, warping, or inconsistent facial movement, that's when the warning signs start stacking up.

4. Robotic or Flat Voice Tone

Video may seem the hardest thing to fake convincingly. But audio? It's surprisingly nuanced.

Even short phrases carry rhythm, tone, emotion, and emphasis. We change pace. We stop mid-sentence. We pause to think. Deepfake audio tends to iron all that out. What you hear is clean, but too clean. It lacks the bumps and quirks of natural speech.

Human voices naturally rise, fall, pause, and stumble. If the delivery feels flat or like it came from a script, you may be dealing with a deepfake.

5. Repeated Phrases & Identical Delivery

One trick deepfakes use to speed up processing time is stitching together snippets of real or generated audio. The result? Repetition. You might hear the same sentence twice with the exact same delivery or notice patterns in phrasing that feel too consistent. In reality, this is not how we talk.

In natural speech, we mix things up. We change intonation, wording, and timing. When phrases sound like a copy-paste job, you're probably listening to a deepfake.

6. Background & Environmental Mismatches

Matching audio to visuals is complex, especially in a dynamic setting. The voice might sound studio-clean, but the video shows someone outdoors on the move. You might hear an echo with no visual cue or see clothes moving in the wind, but hear no wind at all. These inconsistencies are subtle, but we're hard-wired to notice, even if we can't always explain why.

You don't need technical analysis. Just awareness. If something doesn't match the environment, question it.

7. Fails Under Pressure (Live Challenges)

If you're ever unsure whether a voice or video is authentic, put it to the test. Ask the speaker to say something unscripted, like something they should know about you, a line from a movie, or a response that requires emotion, humor or special delivery.

Deepfakes often fail when forced off-script. The AI might stutter, lag, or deliver the phrase with flat tone or the wrong emphasis.

Final Thoughts

Deepfakes are getting better, but they're not flawless. When you know what to look for, you can start picking up on the tells. Glitches in movement, flat emotion, mismatched audio-visual context, or recycled speech.

Keep this guide handy next time you see a suspicious video or get an odd-sounding message. And remember, your gut feeling is a powerful tool. If something feels off, it probably is.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone deepfake you using your social media posts?

Yes. Public photos, videos, and voice clips can be enough to train AI to replicate your face or voice. The more content you share, the easier it gets. It only takes a few minutes of clear footage or audio for convincing results.

Are all deepfakes malicious?

No. Some are made for entertainment or creative projects. But many are used for scams, impersonation, and spreading false information. The risk comes from how easily this technology can be abused.

What is the difference between a deepfake and an edited video?

An edited video changes existing footage. A deepfake creates new content using artificial intelligence. It does not just modify reality. It fabricates it from scratch.