# How to spot a deepfake video: signs to look for > Learn the visual and audio signs of a deepfake video, how to check where a clip came from, and what to do when you suspect a fake. Source: https://vswp.app/guides/how-to-spot-a-deepfake/ ยท Updated 2026-10-06 A deepfake video usually gives itself away in the details AI still finds hard: the edges of the face, the teeth and eyes, the hands, lips that drift from the words, and light that doesn't match the scene. Watch the clip slowly, check who posted it first, and look for the same event from another source. No single sign proves a fake, and a good one can pass every visual test, so the context matters as much as the pixels. ## What is a deepfake? A deepfake is a video, photo or audio clip made or changed with AI so that a real person seems to do or say something they never did. Face swaps, whole-person swaps and cloned voices all belong to this family. Some are jokes everyone is in on; others are made to scam, mislead or humiliate. For how the technology works, see [how AI video face swap works](/guides/ai-video-face-swap-explained/). ## How do you check a suspicious video? 1. **Pause before you react.** Fakes are built to make you angry, scared or excited enough to share at once. 2. **Watch it again, slowly.** Use slow motion or pause frame by frame, especially when the head turns or something passes in front of the face. 3. **Watch with the sound off, then listen without watching.** Gaps between lips and words are easier to notice this way. 4. **Find the source.** Who posted it first? An account with a long history, or one created last week? 5. **Look for the same event elsewhere.** A real public moment is usually filmed from more than one phone and reported by more than one outlet. 6. **Check for labels.** Many platforms show an "AI-generated" tag, and some apps leave a mark in the corner. A missing label proves nothing, though. ## Which signs show up in the face? The face is where a swap happens, so that's where the seams show. - **Edges.** Look at the hairline, jaw, ears and neck. A soft blur, a flicker or a step in skin color where the face meets the rest of the head is a classic sign. - **Skin.** Skin that looks too smooth, waxy or evenly lit, while the neck and hands have normal texture. - **Eyes.** Odd blinking, eyes that don't quite look at the same point, or different reflections in each eye. - **Teeth and mouth.** Teeth that merge into one white strip, or the inside of the mouth changing from frame to frame. - **Glasses, earrings, hair.** Frames that bend or vanish, an earring that comes and goes, strands of hair that melt into the background. - **Turns and cover.** When the person turns to profile, or a hand, phone or microphone crosses the face, the face can smear, slip or blend into the object for a moment. ## What about the body and the scene? - **Hands.** Fingers that merge, bend the wrong way or change in number. - **Light and shadows.** A face lit from one side in a scene lit from the other, or shadows that don't move with the head. - **Background.** Straight lines near the person (doors, shelves, text) that wobble. - **Crowds.** In busy scenes, faces and clothes can mix up between neighbors. - **Fast motion.** Quick camera pans can leave the face a beat behind. These are the same artifacts that a good take of your own video has to avoid; our guide on [a face swap that doesn't look like you](/guides/ai-face-swap-does-not-look-like-you/) covers them from the maker's side. ## Which signs are in the sound? - **Lip sync.** Words that land a little before or after the lips move, or "b", "m" and "p" sounds said with an open mouth. - **Voice.** A flat, even tone, odd pauses, or breathing in the wrong places. Cloned voices can be convincing, especially on a phone call. - **Room sound.** A voice that sounds like a studio while the person stands on a windy street. Many face swap videos keep the original audio. On [vswp](/), for example, the voices and music in the result are the ones from the source clip. So it's always fair to ask whether the voice really belongs to the face you see. ## Which clues are in the context? Often the strongest clues aren't in the frames at all: - the clip is short, blurry or heavily compressed, which hides artifacts; - a famous person "recommends" an investment, a giveaway or an app; - someone you know asks for money or a code in a video message or call, with urgency and a reason not to check; - the claim is shocking, but no reliable outlet reports it. If a relative or your boss asks for money by video or voice, hang up and call them back on a number you already have. A family code word helps too. ## Can a detector app tell for sure? No. Detection tools can help, but they give a probability, not proof: they miss new kinds of fakes and sometimes flag real videos. A well-made deepfake of a short, blurry clip may pass any check. Treat a tool's verdict as one clue next to the source and the context. ## What should you do if you find a deepfake? 1. **Don't share it**, even to mock it: every repost spreads it further. 2. **Report it** to the platform as impersonation, a scam or misleading content. 3. **Warn the person shown**, if you know them, and anyone who might be tricked. 4. **Save the link and screenshots** if it involves you, threats or a crime, and contact the police. Our guide to [face swap consent and safety](/guides/face-swap-consent-and-safety/) has a step-by-step list. ## What if you make AI videos yourself? Be a creator people can trust. Use only photos of people who agreed, keep the joke obvious, and add "made with AI" when you post. In the EU, the AI Act's rule on disclosing deepfakes applies from August 2026; rules differ by country, and this is not legal advice. On vswp, the free preview carries a small "vswp.app" mark, but paid videos don't, so put the label in your caption. ## FAQ ### What is the easiest way to spot a deepfake? Slow the video down and watch the edges of the face, the teeth and the hands, especially when the head turns or something crosses the face. Then check who posted it first. ### Can deepfakes always be detected? No. Good fakes can pass visual checks, and detection tools make mistakes both ways, so combine what you see with the source and the context. ### How can I tell if a video call is a deepfake? Ask the person to turn their head fully to the side or slowly pass a hand in front of their face, and watch for smearing. If they ask for money, hang up and call back on a number you know. ### Are all AI face swap videos deepfakes? A realistic face swap is a kind of deepfake. What matters is consent and honesty: a labeled joke with friends who agreed is not the same as a fake made to deceive.