Is that an AI image? 6 telltale signs it's a fake - and my favorite free detectors

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• AI images have subtle flaws that reveal they're fake.
• Check faces, hands, and textures for common AI errors.
• Free tools like Circle to Search help detect AI images.

AI-generated images are everywhere now. I see them in my news feeds, in Google Images, in Pinterest pins, and even in some ads. It's gotten so pervasive that people have coined the term "AI slop." Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this flood of AI-generated content on your favorite platforms is not going to stop, and it's only going to get harder to tell what's real.

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