No single test can prove that every photo or video is human-made or truthful. The most dependable approach is to preserve the best available file, inspect its metadata and Content Credentials, run the provider-specific verifier that matches the suspected AI system, trace the file to earlier sources, and then check whether independent evidence supports the event shown.
Keep two questions separate: provenance asks how a file was created and edited; truth asks whether the scene actually happened as claimed. A signed record or watermark can provide evidence for the first question without answering the second.
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What an AI check can—and cannot—tell you
AI verification tools do not all measure the same thing. Some inspect a cryptographically signed history, some look for a watermark inserted by one provider, and some search for signals associated with a particular generation system. A negative result usually means only that the tool found no supported signal in that file. It does not mean the file was made by a person.
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Likewise, a positive provenance signal is not a truth certificate. A camera can capture a misleading scene, an authentic photograph can be presented with a false date or caption, and an AI system can generate a realistic depiction of a real place. Treat the result as one part of an evidence chain.
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| Check | What a positive result can support | What a negative or missing result means |
|---|---|---|
| Content Credentials | A participating tool or device recorded origin and edits in a signed provenance record. Changes after signing may be detectable. | The file may have no credentials, may use an unsupported version, or may have lost the record during reposting. Absence is not proof of human creation. |
| Google SynthID through Gemini | Some or all of the supported media was created or edited by a supported Google AI system. | No detected mark does not rule out another provider, and extensive changes can make a mark undetectable. |
| OpenAI public verifier | A supported signal associated with OpenAI tools was found in a supported image or audio file. | No supported signal was found. Signals may have been stripped, degraded, unavailable when made, or outside the tool’s coverage. |
| Metadata and reverse search | Clues about a file’s camera, date, earlier copies, likely source, location, or publication history. | Metadata can be edited or removed, and a matching image does not prove that the exact copy was never altered. |
| Visual inspection or a generic detector | A reason to investigate a particular detail more closely. | Neither is reliable enough to carry a definitive conclusion alone. |
A repeatable workflow for suspicious media
1. Preserve the best available file
Download or obtain the original file whenever possible. A screenshot, messaging-app preview, or social-media re-save may have recompressed the media and removed metadata or credentials. Keep the untouched copy and work on a duplicate so that your own editing does not overwrite evidence.
Record where you obtained the file, the account or page that posted it, the displayed caption, and the date and time you downloaded it. Those notes help distinguish the file’s technical history from the publisher’s claim about what it depicts.
2. Inspect embedded metadata as a clue
Use a metadata viewer that can display image EXIF fields or the equivalent information for a video container. Look for camera or phone model, capture date, time zone, lens and exposure settings, software used to save the file, dimensions, and any location fields. Gemini’s current help guidance recommends metadata analysis when the original file is available.
Metadata is not a certificate. A person can rewrite it, an editor can add software fields, and many services remove it during upload. A camera model that conflicts with the claimed date is a useful lead; a clean metadata panel is not proof that no editing occurred.
3. Check Content Credentials
Open the file in a compatible Content Credentials inspector. When a valid credential is present, it can identify the signing organization, participating tools or devices, and edits that were recorded. C2PA credentials are cryptographically signed and tamper-evident: a change made after signing can be detectable.
Read the complete record rather than stopping at a green or valid label. Note the initial creator or device, each listed transformation, the time information, and whether the credential covers the file you actually downloaded. A repost may contain a preview without the original credential, and an unsupported or invalid credential is not a conclusive origin finding.
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The Content Authenticity Initiative explains that Content Credentials provide information about origin and history but are not intended to prescribe whether content is real. A valid record can show that an image was edited in a named application; it cannot certify that the photographed event happened as described or that every unrecorded edit was absent.
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If the file may have been made with a known provider, use that provider’s official checker and note its coverage. Do not treat different checkers as interchangeable accuracy tests: each searches for its own signals and accepts different file types.
- For suspected Google AI media: upload the file to Gemini’s media verification feature. Under the current Gemini Help guidance, upload one image, video, or audio file at a time. Each file must be 100 MB or smaller; video must be shorter than 90 seconds.
- For suspected OpenAI media: use OpenAI’s public verifier for a supported image or audio file. It does not currently provide general video verification. Follow the formats listed on the verifier page and submit one file at a time.
- Save the exact result: record the file name, date, tool, and wording such as a positive signal, unsupported credentials, or no signal. A result without those details is difficult to audit later.
Gemini can report compatible credentials and look for SynthID associated with Google AI in supported images, videos, and audio. A detected SynthID mark means some or all of the media was created or edited by Google AI. Google also warns that extensive alterations may eventually make a mark undetectable.
OpenAI’s guidance says a no-signal result means only that the tool did not find supported signals in the uploaded file. That can happen when metadata was stripped or tampered with, a watermark was degraded, a legacy model was used, or signals were unavailable when the content was created. It also does not test for other providers’ systems.
5. Trace the file independently
Run a reverse image search on the highest-resolution frame or still image you can obtain. Search several distinctive crops as well as the full image: a sign, building, landscape, or unusual object may lead to an earlier upload even when the full frame has been altered.
Compare the earliest credible copies, publication dates, captions, and locations. For video, extract key frames and search them separately; an old photograph may have been inserted into a new clip. A matching earlier upload can establish where a visual came from, but it does not prove that your copy has never been edited.
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For a claimed event, look for independent photographs, eyewitness video from a different angle, official records, local reporting, weather and sun-position information, and maps that fit the stated place and time. Independent corroboration addresses truth, which provenance tools cannot establish.
6. Examine visual details as prompts, not proof
Inspect reflections, shadows, text, object boundaries, repeated textures, jewelry, fingers, faces, and the way a foreground object meets the background. Check whether signs use consistent lettering and whether perspective, lighting, weather, and architecture fit the claimed location and date.
These observations can identify where to focus further checking. They are not a dependable stand-alone detector: compression, motion blur, low light, stitching, and ordinary camera processing can create similar artifacts. The Content Authenticity Initiative cautions that AI-image detector results can be unreliable and require regular updates.
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7. Report the result with calibrated language
Describe exactly what was checked and avoid categorical claims that exceed the evidence. Suitable wording includes:
- The file contains a valid Content Credential recording edits in a participating tool.
- Gemini detected a SynthID signal associated with Google AI.
- OpenAI’s verifier found no supported signal in this uploaded audio file.
- The original source has not been established, and the event is not independently corroborated.
Do not turn no signal into human-made, or a valid credential into proven real. Identify the exact file, preserve the result, and separate technical findings from your assessment of the claim.
How Content Credentials work
What the signed record contains
Content Credentials are a provenance record attached to compatible media. Depending on the participating tool, the record can identify the creator or signing organization, the device or application involved, and transformations such as cropping, color changes, compositing, or generation. The signature makes unauthorized changes after signing detectable in a compatible inspector.
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Why a credential can be missing
- The camera, editor, or publishing service did not create one.
- The file was exported to a format or version the inspector does not support.
- A social platform, screenshot, screen recording, or messaging service removed the embedded record.
- The credential is present but invalid because the file changed after signing.
- You are examining a derivative copy rather than the signed original.
An invalid or unsupported credential tells you to investigate the file’s chain of custody; it does not, by itself, identify the person who altered it or prove that the scene is fabricated.
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Current Gemini upload limits
Google’s current help guidance describes one upload at a time, a maximum file size of 100 MB, and video shorter than 90 seconds. It lists a rolling 24-hour allowance of approximately 10 image checks, 10 video checks totaling up to five minutes, and 10 audio checks totaling up to three hours. These limits can change, so confirm the live guidance before relying on them for a time-sensitive investigation.
If a clip exceeds the duration limit, preserve the original and create a clearly labeled short excerpt for the check. An excerpt can produce a result about that excerpt’s supported signal, not necessarily about every frame of the original. Do not overwrite the source file.
What a SynthID finding means
A positive SynthID result is provider-specific evidence: some or all of the supported media was created or edited by Google AI. It does not say which frame was generated, whether a human later added unrelated material, or whether the depicted event is true.
A negative result has narrower meaning. Another AI system may have been used, the watermark may have been degraded by resizing or other changes, or the content may predate supported watermarking. Google says extensive alterations can eventually make the mark undetectable.
How to treat Google’s deployment figures
Google reported in 2026 that SynthID had watermarked more than 100 billion images and videos and 60,000 years of audio, and that Gemini verification had been used 50 million times globally. Those are company-reported deployment and usage totals, not accuracy, error-rate, or real-world detection statistics. They should not be used to calculate the probability that an individual file is authentic.
Using the OpenAI public verifier
Coverage and interpretation
The public verifier checks supported image and audio files for signals associated with OpenAI tools. It does not currently offer general video verification. A positive supported signal is evidence about origin in OpenAI tools, not a judgment about accuracy, context, or whether the media is misleading.
If the result says that no signal was detected, read it literally: no supported signal was found in that upload. OpenAI lists several possible reasons, including stripped or tampered metadata, a degraded watermark, use of a legacy model, or signals that were unavailable when the content was made. The tool also cannot rule out content made by another provider.
File handling and privacy
OpenAI’s upload guidance says files are not stored unless legally required and are not used to train its models. Even so, follow your organization’s privacy rules before uploading sensitive images, recordings, identity documents, confidential work, or material involving children. Keep a local chain-of-custody copy and record the service and date used.
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Choosing the right check for the question
| Your question | Best first check | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Was this file edited after it was signed? | Inspect a valid Content Credential. | Only participating tools and recorded actions appear; unrecorded edits or credential loss remain possible. |
| Was this supported media made or edited by Google AI? | Use Gemini’s credential and SynthID checks. | Coverage is limited to supported media and signals; a missing mark is inconclusive. |
| Was this supported image or audio made with OpenAI tools? | Use OpenAI’s public verifier. | It does not provide general video verification and a no-signal result is not proof of human creation. |
| Where did this picture or clip first appear? | Reverse-search the original and distinctive frames, then compare dates and sources. | A matching earlier copy does not prove that your downloaded copy was never altered. |
| Did the claimed event really happen? | Corroborate with independent reporting, records, and separate images or videos. | No provenance or detector tool can certify the truth of the depicted event. |
Troubleshooting common outcomes
The file has no metadata
That is common after social-media processing, screenshots, and messaging-app transfers. Ask for the original export, inspect an earlier upload, and rely more heavily on source tracing and independent corroboration. Do not infer that the file was AI-generated merely because EXIF fields are absent.
Credentials are unsupported or invalid
Check whether you downloaded a preview, whether the inspector supports the credential version, and whether the file was renamed or re-encoded. Preserve the exact copy that produced the message. An unsupported record cannot establish origin; an invalid record suggests that the signed file changed or that verification could not complete.
A provider checker returns no signal
Confirm that the file type is within the tool’s coverage, upload the original rather than a screenshot, and avoid repeated re-encoding before the check. Then write the result as no supported signal found. Test another provider only when there is a reason to suspect that provider; no single service checks every AI system.
The clip is too long or too large
Keep the original intact, make a working copy, and create a short excerpt that meets the service’s current limit. Document the exact time range and file hash or filename. A result for the excerpt should not be generalized to portions of the video that were never submitted.
Visual clues look artificial but evidence conflicts
Give greater weight to a documented provenance record and independently corroborated source history than to one odd reflection or distorted letter. Recheck the frame at its native resolution and consider ordinary causes such as motion blur, panorama stitching, lens distortion, or compression. If uncertainty remains, state it instead of forcing a real-or-fake verdict.
A compact checklist for publishing or sharing a finding
- Save the highest-quality original and note its source, URL or account, caption, and download time.
- Make a working copy and inspect metadata without changing the original.
- Check Content Credentials and record the signer, edits, and validity status.
- Use Gemini for supported Google signals or OpenAI’s verifier for supported OpenAI image and audio signals, matching the tool to the file type.
- Reverse-search the full image and distinctive video frames.
- Compare dates, locations, captions, and independent reporting.
- Inspect visual anomalies only as prompts for additional checks.
- Publish a calibrated statement that names the file and tool and distinguishes provenance from truth.
The strongest conclusion is often conditional: a file may have a valid record of being generated or edited by a particular tool, while the event it depicts remains unverified. That wording is more useful—and more accurate—than calling content real or fake on the basis of one test.
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