What the Fake
The recent instance of senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal reposting AI-generated images during the Kancha Gachibowli issue is an eye-opener for netizens who might fall for the fakes and end up circulating them
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2025-04-21 14:08 GMT
Reposting images of what you like or what you stand for is something many netizens do all the time. But how does one make out if the image they are reposting is genuine or fake? It’s this very issue that landed senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal in trouble. The IAS officer on March 31 reposted an image featuring earthmoving machines, two deer, and a peacock, which was originally shared by another social media handle on ‘X’. What can the netizens do to identify the fakes and avoid spreading them? “There are tools available, but for a common citizen, it’s difficult to verify using these tools,” points out Naved Khan, CEO, Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC).
He says the best solution will be coming up with a policy that mandates any AI-generated content to be marked with some identification or disclaimer. “Like using TM for trademark or R in a circle for registered or something similar for AI-generated content to clearly identify them,” he suggests.
How to spot a manipulated image
When we discuss fake or AI-generated images, there are a few ways you can spot them,” Mukesh Choudhary, renowned cyber cecurity and cyber crime investigator expert. He lists out a few points to remain careful and identify fake images:
1. AI images may have distortions wherein the person may not be perfectly merged with the background.
2. Images might have unnatural expressions, features, shadows or blending with the background.
3. There can be scenarios where the actual image of a person is misused and a certain objectionable object is added in the background. In this situation reverse searching the image on images.google.com can be effective to check if the image has been used somewhere else online and in what context.
4. Metadata, if available, can be checked for creation dates, camera information or software used.
5. Watermarks can be checked, as some AI tools might include watermarks.