SIFT before you share
Four moves that catch most fakes in under a minute. Practice them on the next viral video that lands in your chat.
S — Stop
Notice the emotion. Rage, shock, disgust, or "I have to tell someone" are all signs a post was engineered to spread. Wait 60 seconds before doing anything.
I — Investigate the source
Click the profile. How old is it? Real friends? A blue tick doesn't mean truthful — paid checks are for sale. Anonymous "news" accounts posting 40 times a day are almost never journalism.
F — Find better coverage
Open a new tab. Search 2–3 keywords + "site:bbc.co.uk OR site:reuters.com OR site:apnews.com". If no established outlet is covering it, the claim probably isn't true — yet.
T — Trace the original
Right-click images → reverse image search (Google Lens, TinEye). Screenshot video keyframes and search those. "First seen 2019" on a "breaking today" video is the biggest tell.
Deepfake tells (2026 edition)
- Teeth blur when the mouth moves fast.
- Hair edges shimmer, especially against patterned backgrounds.
- Earrings, glasses, or hands change shape between frames.
- Voice matches lip perfectly for 8+ seconds without a single "um" or breath.
- Watermarks: no c2pa / Content Credentials signature on suspicious clips.