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What Is a Deepfake? How to Spot One

A deepfake is a video, photo or audio recording that seems real but has been manipulated with artificial intelligence. It can show someone saying or doing something they never said or did. Deepfakes can be convincing, so the safest habit is to check the source before you trust or share what you see or hear.

By the CITA Editorial TeamUpdated October 5, 20266 min read

For families, the risks are concrete: fake sexual images of teens, cloned voices in emergency scams, and fake videos used to pressure or embarrass someone. Here is how deepfakes are made, the signs that can give them away, and what to do if one targets your family.

Fast Facts About Deepfakes

  • Deepfakes have mainly been used for nonconsensual pornography, and the technology is cheap and widely available, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reports.[1]
  • In a 2024 survey, 1 in 8 young people ages 13 to 20 knew someone targeted by deepfake nudes.[2]
  • The FBI received more than 22,000 complaints involving AI in 2025, with losses over $893 million.[3]
  • Sexual images of minors made with AI are illegal child sexual abuse material.[4]
  • Covered platforms must remove intimate images, including deepfakes, within 48 hours of a valid request.[5]

If someone made a sexual deepfake of your child

  • Don’t share it, even to warn others, and don’t pay anyone who threatens to post it.
  • Ask the platform to remove it. Covered platforms must do so within 48 hours of a valid request.[5]
  • Use Take It Down (takeitdown.ncmec.org) to help stop sexual images of anyone under 18 from spreading.
  • Report the exploitation of a child to NCMEC’s CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org or 1-800-843-5678.
  • If your child is talking about suicide or self-harm, call or text 988, any hour.
  • If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911.

How Deepfakes Are Made

Deepfakes rely on artificial neural networks, computer systems that learn patterns from data. Developers feed them hundreds or thousands of images so the system learns to reproduce a face. The technology can replace one face with another, change facial expressions, create faces of people who don’t exist, and synthesize speech.[1]

Voices are especially easy to copy. The FTC warns that a scammer needs only a short audio clip of someone’s voice, which could come from content posted online, plus a voice-cloning program.[6] Anyone with basic computer skills can make a deepfake, and newer tools keep getting easier to use.[1]

How to Spot a Deepfake

The FBI suggests looking for subtle imperfections in images and videos:[7]

  • Distorted hands or feet
  • Unrealistic teeth or eyes
  • Faces that look indistinct or irregular
  • Glasses or jewelry that don’t look right
  • Shadows that fall the wrong way
  • Watermarks, lag, or a voice that doesn’t match the mouth
  • Movements that look unnatural

For audio, listen closely to the tone and word choice. A cloned voice may sound right but phrase things the way the real person never would.[7]

Signs alone aren’t enough. Detection is hard because the technology changes quickly, and the best fakes may show none of these flaws.[1] So verify instead of trying to judge by eye:

  • Check the source. Who posted it first? Is a reliable news outlet or the person’s own account sharing it?
  • Look for the original. A reverse image search can show whether a photo was taken from somewhere else and altered.
  • Call back on a number you know. If a call or video seems to come from someone you love asking for help or money, hang up and contact them directly.[6]
  • Use a family code word that only your family knows.[7]

How Deepfakes Are Used Against Families

Fake nude images of teens. In Thorn’s 2024 survey, 1 in 8 young people knew someone targeted with deepfake nudes, and 1 in 17 had been targeted themselves.[2] The deepfake nudes guide covers what to do if it happens, and the nudify apps guide explains the tools behind it.

Sextortion with fake images. The FBI warns that criminals use AI to create sexual photos of victims and then demand payment.[7]

Fake emergency calls. Scammers use cloned voices to impersonate a loved one in distress. People reported losing more than $5 million to these “distress” scams in 2025.[3] The AI voice scam guide explains how to check.

Fake endorsements and profiles. Criminals use AI-generated videos and voices of celebrities or trusted figures to promote fake investments and products, and AI-made photos for fake social media profiles.[7][3]

Are Deepfakes Illegal?

Making synthetic content isn’t illegal on its own, the FBI says, but it’s often used to commit crimes such as fraud and extortion.[7] Several kinds of deepfakes are clearly against the law:

  • Sexual images of minors. AI-made sexual images of children are illegal child sexual abuse material under federal law.[4]
  • Nonconsensual intimate images. The Take It Down Act makes it a federal crime to publish intimate images of someone without consent, including AI fakes, or to threaten to.[8]
  • AI voices in robocalls. The FCC ruled in 2024 that calls using AI-generated voices count as “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.[9]

Most states also criminalize AI-generated sexual images of children. As of September 2026, 47 states had such laws.[10]

How to Talk With Your Kids About Deepfakes

The FTC suggests passing along a few basics:[5]

  • Don’t share explicit images or deepfakes, even as a joke. Possessing or sharing explicit images of children can be a serious crime.
  • Say no to anyone who asks for an explicit picture or video.
  • Tell a parent or trusted adult if you see an explicit image of yourself or someone you know.

It also helps to practice a “pause and check” habit together. When a video seems shocking or a message seems urgent, stop and verify before reacting or sharing.

Take the 2-minute Online Safety Check

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a deepfake?

A video, photo or audio recording that seems real but has been manipulated with AI, often to show someone saying or doing something they never did.[1]

How can you tell if a video is a deepfake?

Look for distorted hands, odd teeth or eyes, wrong shadows, and audio that doesn’t match the mouth. Because the best fakes can look flawless, check the source and contact the person directly.[7][1]

Are deepfakes illegal?

Making one isn’t automatically illegal, but sexual deepfakes of minors are illegal, publishing nonconsensual intimate deepfakes is a federal crime, and AI voices in robocalls are restricted.[4][8][9]

What should I do if someone makes a deepfake of my child?

Don’t share it. Report it to the platform, which must remove intimate images within 48 hours of a valid request, use Take It Down, and report it to NCMEC’s CyberTipline.[5][11][12]

Sources

  1. U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2020, February 20). Science & Tech Spotlight: Deepfakes (GAO-20-379SP).
  2. Thorn. (2025, March 3). Deepfake Nudes & Young People: Navigating a New Frontier in Technology-Facilitated Nonconsensual Sexual Abuse and Exploitation.
  3. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2026). 2025 IC3 Annual Report.
  4. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2024, March 29). Child Sexual Abuse Material Created by Generative AI and Similar Online Tools Is Illegal (Alert No. I-032924-PSA).
  5. Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. (2026, October 1). Talking With Parents and Kids About Deepfakes, Online Safety, and the Take It Down Act.
  6. Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. (2023, March 20). Scammers Use AI to Enhance Their Family Emergency Schemes.
  7. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2024, December 3). Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud (Alert No. I-120324-PSA).
  8. TAKE IT DOWN Act, Pub. L. No. 119-12, 139 Stat. 55 (2025). Public Law 119-12.
  9. Federal Communications Commission. (2024, February 8). FCC Makes AI-Generated Voices in Robocalls Illegal.
  10. Enough Abuse. (2026, September). State Laws Criminalizing AI-Generated or Computer-Edited Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
  11. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Take It Down.
  12. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). CyberTipline.
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