The old advice for spotting fake information — bad grammar, obviously doctored images — doesn't work anymore. AI-generated content is fluent and polished by default. The checks that matter now are different.
Check the source, not the confidence
AI writes everything with the same confident tone, whether it's right or wrong. Confidence is no longer a signal of accuracy — it never was, but AI made that obvious.
Look for verifiable specifics
Vague, sweeping claims ("studies show...") without a specific study, date, or number are a red flag. Genuine information usually points to something checkable.
Reverse-search images before sharing
AI-generated images have gotten dramatically better. A quick reverse image search catches most synthetic images that claim to document a real event.
Cross-check with at least one source you didn't get from social media
If a claim only exists in your feed and nowhere on an established outlet's site, treat it as unverified — not false, just unverified — until you find it elsewhere.
Media literacy hasn't become obsolete in the AI era. It's become more necessary than ever.