What’s Different Between AI-Generated & Deepfake?

June 07, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Hello,

The internet is flooded with images and videos that aren't what they seem. You've heard the terms ‘AI-generated’ and ‘deepfake’— but what's the real difference, and why does it matter? Find out in this edition.

LEARN WITH BOOM

AI-generated visuals are images, videos, or even audio created entirely by Artificial Intelligence. For example, you feed in a prompt to ChatGPT, Gemini, or any other AI model and it creates exactly what you’ve asked for. 

These visuals might look real, but they're entirely synthetic.

Deepfakes, however, are a subset of AI-generated content. A deepfake takes existing media (like a person's face or voice) and superimposes it onto other media. The intention is usually to make it seem like someone said or did something they never did. This is how deepfakes are used to spread lies, damage reputations, or even influence elections.

How does it matter?

While all deepfakes are AI-generated, not all AI-generated content is a deepfake. The key is understanding the intent and method. AI-generated visuals can sometimes be harmless fun; deepfakes are almost always designed to deceive or manipulate.

For example, this video apparently unearthing a 5000-year-old Dwarka city of Lord Krishna went viral. However, HIVE AI Detector showed 98 per cent likeliness of it being AI-generated.

Meanwhile, this video of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli endorsing an online casino app is a deepfake. In the original interview, he is actually talking about his life and career. In the viral version, his voice has been cloned to falsely claim he is propagating a casino app. 

THE LIE COUNT

BOOM Report: Recycled Footage And AI Fueled Operation Sindoor Disinfo

In May 2025, an overwhelming 68 per cent of BOOM's fact-checks revolved around India's Operation Sindoor, and the ensuing armed conflict with Pakistan. 

During this time, BOOM saw rampant use of unrelated footage from foreign conflicts—mostly from the Middle East—being falsely linked to the Indo-Pak conflict, along with significant use of generative AI to create falsehood around the topic. 

Among other trends, BOOM found unrelated visuals of aircrafts and pilots being misrepresented as the Indian Air Force's efforts in conducting air strikes, false stories of attacks in India and Pakistan, and a slew of forged or fake official government notices.

LAW, JUSTICE ET AL

India’s Copyright Laws Under Spotlight: ANI vs Mohak Mangal

A copyright notice by news agency Asian News International (ANI) to YouTuber Mohak Mangal has snowballed into a wider debate on India’s digital content right, what qualifies as fair use and copyright laws. 

Section 52 of the Copyright Act talks about “fair dealing”, allowing use of copyrighted content for specific purposes including criticism, reporting, research and education, importantly without prior permission. But it has a catch – the law does not specify how much content can be used and whether any conditions apply to it. 

Next, are monetised videos fair use? Ritika Jain explains.

'FAKE NEWS’ YOU ALMOST FELL FOR

🔍 Does this video show Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) supporters post the team's win in Indian Premier League (IPL)? Find out in 🔗 Anmol Alphonso’s ↗️ fact-check.

🔍 A viral image shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi kneeling to United States President Donald Trump. But is it legit? 🔗 Rohit Gupta ↗️ tells you the truth.

🔍 Rs 500 notes to be discontinued from March 2026? No, this viral claim is false. Read 🔗 Shivam Bhardwaj’s ↗️ fact-check.

🅱️ RECOMMENDS

This week's recommendation is: Bans on deepfakes take us only so far—here’s what we really need

Was this forwarded to you?

Verified By Boom is written by Divya Chandra, edited by Adrija Bose and designed by H Shiva Roy Chowdhury.

If you have suggestions about this newsletter or want us to conduct workshops on specific topics, drop us a line at 👉 [email protected] and we will get back to you in a jiffy. Thanks for reading. See you next week.👋

—🖤 Liked what you read? Give us a shoutout! 📢

—Become A BOOM Member. Support Us!

—Stop.Verify.Share - Use Our Tipline: 7700906588