r/isthisAI • • Jun 29 '26

Other PSA: SynthID What is it? How do I check? And what are its limitations? and how not to annoy everyone by doing the basics.

147 Upvotes

I thought it was about time to make a new PSA about SynthID. English is not my first language so there's probably some mistakes.

 

As you may be aware, this subreddit does not allow AI detectors. This is because they are extremely unreliable. Try going to deviantart or any other art site and test them with a few images, it should be easy to find something they say is AI despite it being uploaded over five years ago.

This is my go to example https://www.deviantart.com/hibbary/art/Third-Eye-748333152 see how it was uploaded in 2018, there is no way this could be generated but nearly all the detectors I have tried say that it is.

Then why is SynthID allowed, you might say?

SynthID is different. It's a thing developed by Google, when you use their generators they add a hidden pattern to the image which is difficult to remove without lowering the quality of the image or changing it significantly. This is what it is looking for, not if it looks like it's generated like the other detectors. Therefore you can be sure if it says that SynthID is detected, an AI has done something to the image in some way. It could be something as simple as upscaling, changing something or it could be completely generated. The point is if it has SynthID you cannot trust the image.

Recently OpenAI(ChatGPT) have implemented the same technology in their generator. There is an important thing though Google and OpenAI can only detect their own images. Not each other's so you have to run the image through both of them.

So how do I use them?

For OpenAI it's very simple https://openai.com/research/verify/ they have a page for it.

Google of course has to be more complicated. It used to be able to do a "search by image" and then go to about the image but that no longer works. Now you have to use Gemini to get an answer. Add the image you suspect and type "@Verify AI". Annoying but I don't know any better way.

Edit: When using Gemini it is very important that you type "@Verify AI" and not "SynthID" or any other variation of it. Otherwise there is a high chance that it will hallucinate and give you the wrong answer. It is also important to use a clean new session for each image.

Another edit: To confirm that Gemini actually use the verification tool you can press the three little dots underneath its response and then select "see response details".

Now I can't stress this enough, these two methods will only detect OpenAI's and Google's images. Not any other generator. So when an image comes up negative for SynthID that doesn't mean it's not AI. It can only prove that an image is fake not disprove it.

So before you post an image here please check for yourself you will save yourself some time and not waste others.

edit 29-09-2026: It has come to my attention that Meta(Facebook) and Grog(Twitter, I refuse to call it X, it's a dumb name) have also implemented some kind of SynthID. I do not know much about it since I don't and refuse to interact with those two sites. But I will assume that they works just like the others, in that way that you have to check with all of them. This is quickly becoming quite a nuisance to check for SynthID.

edit 16-10-2026 Google has released a global SynthID detector synthid.com I've only briefly tested it and it seems to work. You still need to sign into an account, which is a bit disappointing.


r/isthisAI • • Jul 26 '26

MOD POST New updated Discord for IsthisAI! faster way to find out if a image is AI or not with less restrictions.

11 Upvotes

https://discord.gg/ssuwD2z2JJ Join here and get member role by reaction in the verify channel


r/isthisAI • • 4h ago

Video Is this baby elephant video AI? My partner seems to think so. I can't spot it.

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394 Upvotes

Like I said I've been looking at this several times and I can't see it. My partner seems to think that the face of the guy changes weirdly but I don't know if it does, everything else seems pretty consistent?

Edit: Signs do seem to point towards it being AI


r/isthisAI • • 12h ago

Photo My friend insists that this insta post isn't AI, but the eyes just look so wrong.

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271 Upvotes

Saw this post on Instagram while scrolling. The eyes kinda freaked me out when I first saw it, but I'm really bad at recognizing AI and my friend is convinced it's legit.
Help?


r/isthisAI • • 29m ago

Art Posted by the U.S Deparment of education, and a far cry from other images they posted. Are these A.I?

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• Upvotes

I saw the malfoid one first, and just now the LotR Balrog scene. The former might have some artifacts but it's a little hard to tell. I didn't see anything glaring with the balrog scene which would indicate it's AI. But at the same time, most of the other images posted previously has that soulless look. So I'm wanting input here to see if they're giving up AI for these two images or if it's still slop.


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Photo This picture screams AI to me yet no one is the comments seems to be calling it out

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690 Upvotes

A Google search tells me the statement is true, but I can’t find anything about the picture. Considering they all have the same expression and look overtly perfect, I’d be shocked if it wasn’t.


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Solved [AI] Is this tattoo AI? Artist claims he did it himself, but look at the language on the bill.

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365 Upvotes

He got accused of using AI, and he said it was all done by hand. I asked him why he mangled the font on the bill and he said it was a creative choice.


r/isthisAI • • 10h ago

Photo Fb writer groups claims that they designed it and drew it themselves where I think it’s not true

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27 Upvotes

Saw this post on fb. The op claims that they designed it and drew it themselves.

I can’t quite explain it but these ai designed book covers and characters have a running theme of looking vaguely similar (like a mix of manga-ish features and maximising the female and male features like tiny features of fmc and male is hard lines etc.)

The cover also seemes too perfect.
But no one in the comments seemed to agree with me and applauded the op fight against the ai which they are liking and agreeing.


r/isthisAI • • 4h ago

Art YouTube Channel Variant Comics, This Has To Be AI Right? Looks like either GPT Images or Grok, the electric effects and color looks suspicious. Exact image doesn't even appear in Yandex or Google reverse image search, only the official comic panel. It seems to be edited together with another cover

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3 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Photo Halloween party “last year’s pictures” look a bit unrealistic. Are they????

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547 Upvotes

All of these images look very generic and fake as all hell to me. It doesn’t matter since I’ll probably go with my friend anyway.. but I can’t be the only one who thinks that the pictures just look so generated? I might be wrong though, I’m trying to prove a point to her for the sake of it. Thoughts??


r/isthisAI • • 3h ago

Art New coloring book. Has used AI for her book covers but are the insides AI too? looks too detailed might be AI

2 Upvotes

This person just made a children's coloring book to sell and this is one of the promotional images. shes been known to use AI in the past. however she does make art too.


r/isthisAI • • 4m left

Video This creator claims they make illustrations for their videos. But I believe the drawings are AI. They look like pictures with an illustration prompt added to them. https://youtu.be/ExjAmuQKCMI?is=RfaFREWR39rZE2jE

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• Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 5h ago

Art Is the artwork in the tweet AI? (tbh, the main thing why I'm suspicious is that it was posted by US government)

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2 Upvotes

After closer inspection I'm still unsure. Any weird things could be just artistic imperfections or deliberate choices, like the willow branches which do look off. plus that brush sky can be as well easily generated. On the other hand the castle layout looks solid.


r/isthisAI • • 10h ago

Art Is this image of the Exxon Tiger (aka. Esso Tiger) from The Daily Show AI generated?

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4 Upvotes

Why I think it might be AI: The style seems similar to the slick, overly-detailed AI style. Plus The Daily Show has a short turn-around from script to execution, so not sure if they'd have time waiting for an actual artist to do a detailed drawing; you'd expect something less maximalist.

This bit is available on YouTube, from the show that aired October 26th, 2026.


r/isthisAI • • 16h ago

Art I commissioned a 3d model and this is the starting sketch . Is this AI? It doesn’t look like the person they are modelling off

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11 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Video The perception of the depth is distorted in my opinion. It feels like the rock is falling forever. It feels like the drop should be a quarter of what it is

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302 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Video I can't really tell if this is ai or not, the pfp of where this tiktok came from is definitely AI but not sure about the video

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571 Upvotes

Something about the editing and other things just seem off I guess? The way he holds it seems od/ the welds itself


r/isthisAI • • 8h ago

Other I need some experts to help me disprove that this is AI - please give any and all opinions

1 Upvotes

Admin scenarios (required)

The following questions are meant to show what you would do if you were an admin. There may be more than one reasonable answer. Explain what you would check, what you would do, which part of the conduct policy you believe applies, and whether the player’s punishment history would change your response.

  1. A player reports that someone removed part of a build without permission. The accused player says the owner gave them permission, but the owner is offline and the evidence is incomplete. What would you do? How would your response change if the owner later denied giving permission, told the player to stop, and you witnessed the player continue damaging the build?

Answer: I would ask the player who griefed the build in question, to immediately stop as a first warning. If the griefer refuses to stop, I will then ask a second time, clearly emphasising the consequence of a ban. If they continue after the second warning, I would ban them. If they either stopped after the first or second warning, I would ask which build the owner gave them permission to destroy. If they fail to answer, I would /freeze them and wait for the owner to log on to shed light on the permitted build, and either ban the griefer or dismiss the report if the owner gave permission. According to the scenario where no permission was given, after waiting for the owner to come online, the build owner will deny permission, where I would then ban the griefer for modifying others’ builds without explicit permission according to Category 2, No.1 of the Server Conduct Policy.

  1. The spam filter blocks a player’s repeated message. They change the spacing and characters to send the same message anyway, then continue after you warn them to stop. What would you do, and how would a confirmed history of the same behavior affect your response?
  2. Assuming the worst-case scenario of repeated offensive language, I would provide only 1 warning using /smite to the player, warning them to both stop spamming, and stop using any offensive vocabulary. If the consequence is ignored, and the player continues to spam chat, I would immediately ban them and compare their potential past ban history; according to Category 2, No.3 of the Conduct Policy, the ban duration will last 1 day. If the player had no or minimal past ban history (e.g. 1, at most 2 past related offenses), I would ban them for 1 hour if they spammed offensive or derogatory language.

Answer:

  1. During a heated argument, a player says, “I know where you live, and I’m coming for you.” They later say it was a joke, the other player appears genuinely concerned, and no private information was posted. What would you do immediately, and how would you decide which part of the conduct policy applies?

Answer: Category 2, No.4 of the Conduct Policy relating to making earnest threats towards others (and themselves), would initially impose a 24-hour ban for the player. However, the player had both specified (whether true or not) that their comment was a joke, and additionally had not disclosed private information. Therefore, I would first stress to the perpetrator that implying harm to other players or themself, even as a joke, is never okay – regardless, but even more since the message was taken with genuine concern. I would then compare past ban history, and either issue a 24-hour ban with 2 or more previous offences, or a 16-hour ban if no previous history.

  1. A player uses an admin-looking nickname and tag. They never directly claim to be staff, but a new player believes they are an admin. What would you do? How would your response change if the player began telling others that they were an admin?

Answer: I would immediately ask the player in question, if they are an admin or not. This direct address will yield an answer that I can systematically prove is true or not. Using /list, I can view the player’s real status, regardless of what they say. If they admit to not being an admin, I see no fit for bannable offenses given truthful admission, and would kindly but firmly ask the player to remove their tag and not attempt to mirror a false authority. On the other hand, if after viewing the player lie about false administration to both a new player and myself, I would immediately ban the player under Category 2, No.6 of the Conduct Policy for 24-hours, for deceiving both a new player, potentially current players and an admin.

  1. A player posts a download link and says it is a useful Minecraft tool/mod. Another player reports that it steals passwords, but the report has not been verified. Without opening, downloading, or testing the link yourself, what would you do immediately, and how would you decide whether further action is needed?

Answer: By clicking on the link in-game, a warning will appear asking if I want to proceed going to the website and providing the entire link, which I would inspect. I would check for obvious phishing scams, brand impersonation, questionable names, etc (e.g. https://link.tesltra.info/hDUefh8x). If the link has any sign of malice, I would ban the player for 72 hours with no prior ban history, but would progress this to a permanent ban with more than 1 past infraction according to Category 1, No.5 of the Conduct Policy regarding link posting.

  1. You witness a player repeatedly perform an action that causes serious server lag. They say they were testing whether it could crash the server, but they did not report the issue or receive staff permission before testing it. What would you do immediately, what evidence would you preserve, and who would you notify?

Answer: The foremost and primary rule in Category 1 No.1 that attempts at crashing the server would lead me to issuing an immediate permanent ban on the player for a clear violation of the Conduct Policy without explicit permission from at least a Senior Admin. But regardless of testing for a server crash and most likely that express permission for this action would not be granted, an immediate permaban would be the consequence of this. I would preserve evidence by quickly using an .MKV recording (which sustains recording despite a computer crash), to obtain evidence of this lag, and then proceed to ban the individual. I would notify the Discord, including Super Admins, Senior Admins, Devs and Execs, as crashing the server is a detrimental risk to the safety of players and admins. I would finally apologise on behalf of the admin team on the general discussion component of the Discord, and wait for further instructions from higher-ups.

Declaration (required)

Confirm the following statement by answering Yes:

I wrote every answer in this application myself. I did not copy somebody else’s answers or use AI to help write, rewrite, proofread, or improve any part of my application. I understand that using AI, copying answers, or providing false information will result in my application being denied and may result in additional forum sanctions.

Yes, I agree to this declaration.

—————————————

The above is my application to become a Minecraft admin, which was met with extremely harsh criticism and immediate denial for being “undoubtedly ai”

I used no ai in the making of this, and would like some people to help point out the aspects that make this sound as such,

Thank you in advance

(https://forum.tfreedom.org/t/super-admin-application-000x8007045d/1089)


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Politics saw this on threads, and it just looks off to me [repost with the correct flair]

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29 Upvotes

all the signs having stakes but not being (or seem to have ever been) in the ground, and the length of the amazon truck seem strange to me


r/isthisAI • • 13h ago

Video Is this TikTok account's edits AI? They all follow the same-ish formats just in another style, and the animation has an AI style

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2 Upvotes

The creator posted an image as proof that it's all hand drawn in the comments, but the animation has the transition style that all the AI animations I've seen has. I suspect that they at least traced over AI. Also factoring in how they somehow have been posting these types of edit animations everyday consistently. Looking over their account, their other edits almost always has an AI generated Belle looking character at the start.


r/isthisAI • • 9h ago

Music is there ai in this? 1:10 to 1:40 bgm reverberations sound ai-ish? not promoting/affiliated

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1 Upvotes

r/isthisAI • • 13h ago

Other The images on the tag of a zuru hug a lumps seal plushie look like ai, not quite sure if they are

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2 Upvotes

I bought this plushie today bc i love seals and this seal is so cute, and its also weighted, but the images on the tag seem strange, they look ai-ish but i can’t quite tell why, is it ai?


r/isthisAI • • 1d ago

Other I think the San Diego Wildlife Society is using AI in its Merchandise (SD Zoo Gift Shop)

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355 Upvotes

Something about the lighting, line thickness, and the meant-to-look-realistic style. Just sucks - a missed opportunity to work with real artists if true.


r/isthisAI • • 21h ago

Photo Help me if this picture of a tortoise ai or not, my friend is telling me it is but I'm not sure

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4 Upvotes

A while ago my brother lost his pet tortoise so we sent a missing notice on the internet and today I got a message saying that someone had found him, I can't tell if it's ai or not, 1st photo is the one I sent on the notice and the second is the one the person sent me


r/isthisAI • • 23h ago

Art This display at my local art museum. There are many inconsistencies and details that seem indicative of AI. The border is clearly painted on, but the rest has the texture of a print.

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9 Upvotes

I’m fairly certain, but I wanted to see what others thought. It’s disappointing, as this artist’s earlier catalogue is very cool.