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Do not try to prove a tip is AI-generated before contacting police. First check who sent it, what the message is asking you to do, and whether reliable sources support the underlying claim. Preserve the original link or file details when convenient, then report promptly through the police or cybercrime route for your jurisdiction. If someone faces immediate danger, use your local emergency number without waiting for verification.
A tip can combine several things: a genuine recording with a false caption, an old photograph presented as current, an AI-generated voice impersonating an official, or a real event wrapped in a fraudulent request for money. Your task is to describe what you received and the risk it presents, not to deliver a technical authenticity verdict.
Start with safety, not authenticity
An image, video, audio note or written message can be AI-generated, AI-edited, or entirely genuine. You usually cannot settle that question from appearance alone. Modern generated and modified media is becoming harder to distinguish from authentic material, and visual glitches are clues rather than proof.
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If there is immediate danger
Call the emergency service for the country or territory where the danger is occurring. The numbers below are jurisdiction-specific, not universal:
- United Kingdom: Police.uk says to call 999 when there is immediate danger to life or violence, or threats of violence.
- Victoria, Australia: Victoria Police says to call Triple Zero (000) for an immediate threat to life or risk of harm.
- Elsewhere: use the local emergency number or emergency reporting channel. Do not assume a UK or Australian number applies where you are.
You can report a concerning tip even when you cannot verify it. Tell the officer what you received and which parts are uncertain. If the danger is financial or account-related rather than physical, say so clearly; the appropriate non-emergency or cybercrime route may differ.
A five-minute verification sequence
Use these checks in order. Stop as soon as the risk is clear enough to report; verification is not a prerequisite for contacting police. The sequence is designed to establish what each check can actually show, not to produce a score for whether a file is “real.”
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- Assess the source, context and purpose. Identify who first sent or posted the material, whether the account or organisation is authentic, when it appeared, and what the sender wants you to do.
- Corroborate the underlying claim. Check the organisation or person that would know, official announcements, and independent credible reporting.
- Search for earlier appearances of images. A reverse-image search can reveal reuse or an earlier debunking.
- Record identifying details. Save the original URL, account identifiers, platform, time and a factual description when those details are readily available.
- Report through the correct local channel. Do not delay a report while trying to collect perfect evidence.
1. Assess the source, context and purpose
Check who sent or posted it
Look at the account name, username or user ID, profile history and the original post rather than relying on a forwarded copy. Ask whether the account belongs to the claimed person or organisation. An unsolicited message, a newly created account, a copied logo, or a request to move the conversation to another service all reduce confidence, but none proves that the media is synthetic.
Check whether the account’s older posts, spelling, location and contact details fit the identity it claims. A verified-looking badge, profile photograph or familiar branding can be copied. If the material arrived through several forwards, note the earliest sender you can identify and say that the original source is unknown if you cannot trace it.
Read the surrounding context
Note the date, location, event being described and the words around the image, clip or voice note. A real file can be paired with a false caption, an old event can be presented as current, and a genuine recording can be edited into a misleading sequence. Singapore Police Force’s “Assess the Message” approach specifically asks readers to consider source, context and aim.
Ask whether the timing makes sense. A message claiming to show a current emergency but using weather, clothing, signage or buildings from another season or place may be recycled. That inconsistency is worth reporting as an observation; it is not proof of AI generation.
Identify the requested action
Be especially cautious when a message urges an urgent money transfer, asks for credentials, directs you to a suspicious link, or demands an unusual or unsafe action. Pressure to act before checking is itself relevant context. Do not treat urgency as evidence that the claim is true. A voice note that sounds like a manager asking for a same-day payment should be independently confirmed with the manager using a known channel.
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2. Corroborate the claim independently
Check the authority that would know
Search the official website or verified public channel of the organisation, public agency, event venue or person named in the tip. Use a web address you already know or find independently, not a link supplied in the suspicious message. Look for a matching announcement, correction or warning.
For a claimed police operation, contact the relevant police service through its published route. For a claimed cancellation, closure or public warning, check the responsible agency or venue. Do not demand that an organisation confirm private or sensitive information; the aim is to compare the public claim, not to pressure staff into revealing details.
Use more than one credible source
Victoria Police recommends checking official news outlets, press releases and fact-checking resources. Compare the specific claim, date and location rather than looking only for similar wording. Independent reports that agree on the underlying event can increase confidence in the event; they still do not establish whether the attached media was made by an AI system.
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Prefer sources with identifiable editorial responsibility and a history of correcting errors. Several accounts repeating the same post are not independent corroboration if they all copied one another. Record both confirmations and contradictions so an investigator can see how you reached your assessment.
When nothing corroborates it
Lack of confirmation is not proof that a tip is false. Breaking events may not yet appear in public sources, and some investigations are not announced. Report the information if it describes a credible risk, stating that you could not independently confirm it. Explain how long you searched and which official or independent sources you checked, without claiming that silence settles the question.
3. Search for earlier appearances of an image
A reverse-image search can locate an older post, a different caption, a stock photograph or a previous debunking. Save the result’s date and the relationship between the earlier and current versions. An earlier appearance may show that the image is being reused out of context. Search a distinctive frame from a video or a clear crop if the service permits, and compare the full surrounding page rather than relying on a thumbnail.
This method has strict limits. It may miss a new or private image, and a matching result does not prove who created the file, whether it was later edited, or whether the current claim is true. Treat it as a way to establish prior appearance, not as an AI-authorship test. A photograph that first appeared years earlier could still have been altered for the current post, while an original synthetic image may have no indexed copy.
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Visual and audio clues are only signals
Look for inconsistent shadows, reflections, text, hands, faces, lip movement, room acoustics or sudden changes in image quality. These observations can justify further checking, but compression, cropping, lighting and ordinary editing can create similar effects. A smooth-looking file can still be manipulated.
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For audio, note abrupt changes in background noise, unnatural pauses or a mismatch between the speaker’s claimed identity and the circumstances. For video, compare lip movement with the soundtrack and check whether cuts occur at the moment a key statement changes. Describe the precise moment and timestamp rather than writing that the speaker is “obviously fake.”
Do not rely on a detector as a verdict
Consumer “AI detectors” can produce false positives and false negatives, especially after a file is resized, re-encoded, clipped or recorded from a screen. The official guidance available for this workflow does not identify a validated consumer detector that settles authenticity. If you mention a suspected synthetic feature in a report, describe exactly what you observed and label it as an observation, not a conclusion.
Do not upload sensitive images, intimate material, identity documents or private recordings to an unfamiliar detector merely to obtain a percentage score. A score does not establish who made the file, when it was made, or whether the associated allegation is true. Police can decide what specialist examination is appropriate.
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| Question | Useful check | What the check cannot establish |
|---|---|---|
| Who supplied the material? | Account identity, original URL, sender details and posting time | That the sender created the file or that the claim is true |
| Has this image appeared before? | Reverse-image search and dated earlier posts | That the image is AI-generated or that the current caption is accurate |
| Is the underlying event supported? | Official announcements, press releases and independent credible reporting | That the attached audio, image or video is unaltered |
| What is the message trying to make you do? | Read the full text and identify requests, threats and urgency | That the sender’s stated purpose is genuine |
5. Record details that help an investigation
When it is safe and straightforward, write down or retain:
- the original URL or message location;
- the sender’s display name, username or user ID;
- the platform or service;
- the date and time you received or saw it, including the time zone if known;
- what the message said, showed or asked you to do;
- the names, places, organisations and dates mentioned; and
- how you encountered it, such as a direct message, public post or forwarded file.
Keep a factual description separate from your interpretation. For example, write “the clip shows a person claiming to be the mayor and asks for a transfer” rather than “the mayor was deepfaked.” Include the original file only if you can preserve it without altering it. Note whether you viewed it in an app, browser or messaging service and whether someone else forwarded it to you.
Do not modify a possible original
Do not crop, annotate, filter, re-encode or repeatedly forward a file that may be needed as evidence. Those actions can remove metadata or change what investigators need to examine. The UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s Digital investigations: Digital imaging and multimedia procedure (version 3.0, published 16 November 2021) is specialist practitioner guidance on capturing, retrieving, storing and using digital images, audio and metadata. Members of the public are not expected to perform that forensic process; simply avoid altering the original when practical.
If you already made a screenshot or edited copy, do not discard it or pretend it is the original. Tell police exactly what you did and retain the unmodified version if one remains. Never put yourself at risk to obtain a file, bypass a private account or meet the sender.
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6. Report promptly through the right route
United Kingdom
Police.uk’s public guidance says you do not need to gather screenshots, text messages, videos or photos before reporting false information. Report what happened and provide the identifying details you have. Its deepfake guidance lists URLs, account identifiers, platform, timing and a description of the content as useful information. Call 999 only for immediate danger to life or violence or threats of violence; use the appropriate non-emergency police or cybercrime route for other cases.
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Victoria, Australia
Victoria Police advises checking official sources and using reverse-image search when assessing deepfakes. For a matter in Victoria, contact a local police station or use the ReportCyber pathway identified by Victoria Police. Call Triple Zero (000) when there is an immediate threat to life or risk of harm. These directions are for Victoria and should not be presented as a nationwide or international route.
Singapore
Singapore Police Force communications describe a three-part approach that begins with “Assess the Message,” including the source, context and aim. Follow the Singapore Police Force’s current local reporting instructions if the sender, victim or danger is in Singapore. Do not substitute UK, Australian or US contact routes.
United States and other jurisdictions
The FBI’s public material explains that AI-generated and AI-modified content is increasingly difficult to distinguish and that the FBI verifies its own AI-generated leads with human experts. That internal practice is not a public authenticity test. In the United States or another country, use the relevant local police, emergency service or cybercrime reporting channel and state your location when asking for directions.
Routes can change, and the correct agency may depend on where the victim, sender, threatened location or financial loss is located. If you are unsure, start with local police or the emergency service’s non-emergency advice line and ask where a suspected impersonation, scam or manipulated-media report belongs.
What to include in a report
A clear report lets investigators separate the allegation from what you personally observed. Include:
- where you found the material and how it reached you;
- the account, sender or organisation presented as its source;
- the exact claim or requested action, using quotation marks for distinctive wording when possible;
- the URL, user ID, platform, date and time;
- why you think it may be manipulated, such as a mismatch with an official announcement or a visible continuity problem;
- what you checked and what remained unconfirmed; and
- any immediate risk to a person, location, money or account.
Do not embellish, guess at the software used, or identify a real person as the creator without evidence. If the material involves a child, intimate imagery, threats or personal data, avoid forwarding it and tell the reporting service that sensitive content is involved. Ask how to transfer the original securely if an officer needs it; do not post it publicly as “proof.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common mistakes that weaken a report
- Waiting for certainty: Police.uk explicitly says evidence is not required before reporting false information.
- Sharing it to ask for opinions: extra copies can spread a scam, expose victims or make the original harder to identify.
- Confusing a reused image with an AI image: prior circulation shows reuse or context, not authorship.
- Treating artifacts as proof: compression and ordinary editing can mimic synthetic defects.
- Using the wrong emergency number: emergency routes depend on geography.
- Editing the only copy: filters, crops and screen recordings can remove useful information.
- Assuming repetition is corroboration: many accounts may simply be repeating one unverified post.
- Confronting the suspected sender: direct contact can escalate danger, alert a scammer or destroy a live investigation.
Printable decision checklist
- Is anyone in immediate danger? If yes, contact the local emergency service now.
- Who first sent or posted it, and is that account authentic?
- What date, place and event does it claim to show?
- What does the sender want you to do?
- Can the named organisation or person confirm the underlying claim?
- Do independent credible reports support or contradict it?
- Has an image appeared earlier under a different context?
- Which observations are facts, and which are only suspicions about manipulation?
- Have you retained the URL, account details, platform, time and wording?
- Have you reported it through the police or cybercrime route for the relevant jurisdiction?
What verification can—and cannot—tell you
Source checks identify where a tip came from. Corroboration tests whether the underlying event is supported. Reverse-image search reveals earlier appearances. Context analysis exposes pressure, impersonation and unusual requests. None of these checks alone proves that a file is authentic or AI-generated.
The responsible report is therefore not “this is definitely a deepfake” unless investigators have established that fact. It is a precise account of what you received, what you checked, what you observed and why the material may pose a risk. That gives police useful leads without turning an uncertain technical judgment into a false certainty.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if a photo or video is AI-generated?
You usually cannot determine that from visual flaws alone. Check the source, context and requested action, corroborate the underlying claim with official and independent credible sources, and describe any odd shadows, text, lip movement or continuity as observations rather than proof.
How do I check whether an image has appeared before?
Use a reverse-image search and compare dated earlier pages, captions and locations. A match can show reuse, an older event or a previous debunking, but it does not prove AI authorship or establish that the current claim is true.
What should I include when reporting a suspected deepfake?
Provide the original URL or message location, sender name and user ID, platform, date and time, the exact claim or requested action, what you observed, what you checked, what remains unconfirmed and any immediate risk. Keep facts separate from your suspicion about manipulation.
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No. Police.uk says you do not need to gather screenshots, messages, videos or photos before reporting false information. Report promptly with whatever identifying details are readily available, and avoid altering an original file if you can preserve it safely.
Where do I report a deepfake or AI-generated scam?
Use the police, emergency service or cybercrime route for the jurisdiction where the danger, victim or relevant incident is located. UK 999 and Victoria’s Triple Zero (000) guidance is specific to immediate danger in those jurisdictions; do not apply either number elsewhere.
Should I upload the file to an AI detector?
A consumer detector is not a reliable final verdict and can produce false positives or negatives, especially after resizing or re-encoding. Do not upload sensitive material to an unfamiliar service merely for a score. Let investigators decide whether specialist examination is needed.
The Bottom Line
Check the source, context, purpose and underlying claim; use reverse-image search only to investigate prior appearances; retain identifying details without altering the original; and report promptly through the correct local channel. You do not need proof that media is AI-generated before contacting police. Describe what you received, what you verified, what remains uncertain and any immediate danger.
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