Student learning · Grades 6–8, Grades 9–12 · 45 minutes
Real, Fake, or Generated?
Students hunt for the classic clues of AI-made images and cloned voices, discover how often those clues mislead, and learn to check the source instead.
Students have heard the tips: look for extra fingers, garbled text, too-smooth skin, a flat robotic voice. In this activity they judge eight media cards using clues alone, then check where each item came from. Some "obvious fakes" turn out to be real, and some flawless images turn out to be generated. The big idea: clues are hints that expire as tools improve, but checking the source works on every kind of media, including things no one has invented yet.
In this packet
- Handout A: Media Cards (cut-apart cards)
- Handout B: Clue vs. Source Log (organizer)
- Handout C: My Before-I-Share Plan (worksheet)
- Facilitator key (last page)
TCEA ELE indicators
- AI1.3 I am aware of the current limitations and potential biases in AI systems.
- S2.2 I can identify trustworthy sources of information on the internet.
- AI4.1 I know how to promote critical thinking skills in relation to AI-generated information.
- S2.3 I am aware of the potential risks of sharing content online.
- T2.3 I am aware of strategies to help students identify and combat misinformation.
Full facilitator guide: mglearn.github.io/eles/activities/real-fake-or-generated.html
Handout A for Real, Fake, or Generated?
Media Cards
Cut apart and keep the stack face down. Round 1: judge each card using only what it describes. The backs are the source slips your teacher hands out in Round 2.
Card 1 · Voice message
Your grandmother gets a voicemail from an unknown number. It sounds exactly like you: "Grandma, it's me. I lost my phone and I'm in trouble. Please buy two gift cards and text me the codes. Don't tell Mom." The voice is a little flat, but it's your voice.
Card 2 · Photo
A crisp photo shows a hailstone the size of a basketball in someone's hand, captioned "Pine Ridge today!!" The fingers, shadows, and background all look perfect. There is nothing weird to spot.
Card 3 · Photo
A photo of the Lakeview Middle School band after a concert. One student's hand seems to have six fingers. Someone comments: "AI fake, count the fingers lol."
Card 4 · Video
A 15-second video shows Cedar Falls Mayor Dana Ortiz saying, "All schools are closed for the rest of the week." Her lips seem slightly out of sync. Posted by @CedarFallsNewsNow.
Card 5 · Ad image
An image with the FreshMart grocery logo: "FreshMart turns 50! Free $500 gift card for the first 1,000 people. Click to claim." The words on the store signs in the background are jumbled nonsense.
Card 6 · Historic photo
A bright, full-color photo labeled "Downtown Pine Ridge, 1920." The faces look unusually sharp and smooth for such an old picture.
Card 7 · Song clip
A clip called "Kira Vale x Captain Comet - NEW SONG" is spreading fast. It sounds just like the singer Kira Vale. The reshared version has no description.
Card 8 · Photo
A photo of firefighters holding a rescued dog. The dog's fur looks smudgy and blurry, like a painting, and the background is strangely smooth.
Handout B for Real, Fake, or Generated?
Clue vs. Source Log
Round 1: clues only. Round 2: name the source question you asked and what the slip told you. Verdicts: Real · Generated · Real but edited · Can't tell yet.
| Card | Round 1: clue we used | Round 1 verdict + confidence (1–5) | Source question we asked + what we learned | Round 2 verdict + confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Voice | ||||
| 2 · Hail | ||||
| 3 · Band | ||||
| 4 · Mayor | ||||
| 5 · Ad | ||||
| 6 · 1920 | ||||
| 7 · Song | ||||
| 8 · Dog |
Handout C for Real, Fake, or Generated?
My Before-I-Share Plan
Work on your own. You will take this home and share part of it with an adult in your family.
One clue that fooled our team today, and why it failed:
Why do clues like "extra fingers" stop working over time?
My four source questions (write them in your own words):
If someone in my family got a voice message that sounded like me asking for money, here is exactly what we would do:
One thing I will do before I share a surprising image, video, or clip:
Facilitator only for Real, Fake, or Generated?
Answer key and notes
Handout A: Media Cards
- Card 1 · Voice message
- Source check: you were at school all day and your phone was in your backpack. Voice-cloning tools can copy a voice from a short recording, like a video posted online. A flat voice could also be a bad connection, so the clue proves nothing. The real move: hang up and call back on a number you already know, or ask a family code word. Verdict: scam until verified.
- Card 2 · Photo
- Source check: the account was created last week and posts a new "amazing" photo every hour. No weather service, local news outlet, or Pine Ridge resident reports giant hail. Verdict: can't confirm, very likely generated. No glitches is not proof of real.
- Card 3 · Photo
- Source check: the school's official page posted the photo with the photographer's name and more pictures from the same night. Zooming in shows the "sixth finger" belongs to the student standing behind. Verdict: real. Clues can raise false alarms, too.
- Card 4 · Video
- Source check: @CedarFallsNewsNow is not the city's account. The city website and the school district's page announce no closures, and local news has no such story. Verdict: fake (edited or AI-generated). The source settled it; the lips could have been a slow connection.
- Card 5 · Ad image
- Source check: FreshMart's own website and verified page mention no giveaway, and the link goes to a site with a different name. Jumbled background text is a common clue, but newer tools often write text cleanly, so it won't always be there. Verdict: scam, likely generated.
- Card 6 · Historic photo
- Source check: the Pine Ridge Historical Society posted the original black-and-white photo with its archive information. Someone ran it through an AI "enhance and colorize" tool, which sharpened faces and guessed at colors. Verdict: real but edited. The original is the trustworthy version.
- Card 7 · Song clip
- Source check: tracing back to the first post shows the creator labeled it "AI voice cover, fan-made, not the real artist." The label disappeared as people reshared it. Kira Vale's verified channel has no such song. Verdict: generated. Labels help only if they travel with the media, so trace back to the original post.
- Card 8 · Photo
- Source check: the Maple Hollow Fire Department's verified page posted it, and the local paper ran the story with other photos from the scene. The smudging comes from a phone camera zoomed in at night. Verdict: real. "Looks AI-ish" is not evidence.