Misinformation and Deepfakes: How to Help Kids Spot What’s Fake

Children see a constant stream of viral videos, screenshots and posts, and more of it is now made or edited with AI. A fake can be a harmless joke, a scam, a political rumor or a cruel image of a classmate. The goal isn’t to make children distrust everything. It’s to give them a few habits for checking before they believe or share. This guide covers those habits and what to do if someone makes a fake image of your child. Checked October 25, 2026.

Three kinds of false information

• Misinformation: false or misleading content shared by someone who believes it’s true.
• Disinformation: false content spread on purpose to deceive, often to sway opinions or make money.
• Deepfakes: images, audio or video created or altered with AI to show someone saying or doing something they never did.

Four habits to teach

1. Pause when you feel a strong reaction. Content designed to mislead often aims to make you angry, scared or amazed. That jolt is the signal to slow down.
2. Check who’s behind it. Is the account a real news organization, an expert, or someone you can’t identify? A blue check or big follower count doesn’t prove accuracy.
3. Read laterally. The News Literacy Project recommends leaving the post and searching what other sources say: open a new tab, search the claim or the source’s name, and see whether trustworthy outlets or fact-checkers confirm it.
4. Find the original. Screenshots and clips are easy to fake or cut out of context. Look for the original post, full video or official statement.

How to check an image or video

• Reverse image search. Use Google Lens or another reverse image search to see where a picture first appeared and whether it’s old or from a different event.
• Look at the details, but don’t rely on them alone. Odd hands, garbled text, mismatched earrings, strange lighting or lips that don’t match the audio can be clues, but AI tools keep improving.
• Check for labels. Some platforms add “AI-generated” or “made with AI” labels, and some images carry content credentials. Their absence doesn’t prove something is real.
• Ask: who benefits? If a video of a celebrity is selling crypto or a miracle product, it’s almost certainly a scam. See Crypto Investment Scams.

Before you share

Teach a simple rule: if you’re not sure it’s true, don’t pass it on. Sharing a fake, even as a joke, can spread a rumor, hurt someone or help a scammer. It’s fine to say “I don’t know yet.”

If someone makes a fake image of your child

AI tools can create realistic fake nude or sexual images from an ordinary photo. This is serious, and there are now clear ways to act:

1. Don’t share or forward the image, even to show others. Write down where it appeared, the usernames and dates.
2. Report it to the platform. Under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, social media, messaging and image-sharing services must offer a way to request removal of intimate images shared without consent, including AI-made “digital forgeries”, and remove them within 48 hours of a valid request. The FTC began enforcing this on May 19, 2026.
3. If the person shown is under 18, use NCMEC’s free Take It Down tool and report to the CyberTipline (1-800-843-5678).
4. If a platform doesn’t act, you can report it to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.
5. Tell the school if classmates are involved, and contact police. Creating or sharing these images can be a crime.
6. Support your child. Make clear they did nothing wrong. See our cyberbullying and sextortion guides for more steps.

Practice together

• Pick a viral post together and fact-check it as a family.
• Try a reverse image search on a photo you’ve seen shared.
• Talk about a time you were fooled. Kids learn a lot from hearing that adults get tricked too.

Quick checklist

• Pause when a post makes you feel a strong emotion
• Check who made it
• Search what other sources say
• Find the original image or video
• Don’t share if you’re not sure
• Know how to report fake intimate images

Frequently asked questions

Are there apps that can tell if something is AI-made?
Some tools claim to, but none are reliable on their own. Checking the source and finding other reports works better.

What about voice deepfakes?
Scammers can clone a voice from a short clip. Agree on a family code word and call back on a known number. See AI Voice-Clone Scam Calls.

At what age should we start?
As soon as children watch videos on their own. Even young children can learn “not everything online is true, so ask a grown-up.”

Sources

• Expand Your View With Lateral Reading, News Literacy Project, accessed October 25, 2026
• Take It Down Act Enforcement Starts Now, Federal Trade Commission (May 19, 2026), accessed October 25, 2026
• Sextortion, NCMEC, accessed October 25, 2026
• Tactics of Disinformation, CISA, accessed October 25, 2026