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The New Visual Reality

AI Images, Deepfakes, & Digital Trust

Online media can fool even the sharpest eyes. Learn how AI images and videos are made, what deepfakes are, and practical tips to spot red flags and verify content in today’s fast-moving digital world.

We live in a moment where seeing something with our own eyes no longer guarantees that it’s real. Images and videos can now be generated, altered or entirely fabricated with prompts and algorithms.

This talk looks at how AI-generated images and video are created, where the data behind them comes from, and how they’re being used—sometimes creatively, sometimes deceptively. We’ll talk about deepfakes, how they differ from other AI-generated media, and why they pose unique challenges for journalism, democracy, and everyday decision-making.

Most importantly, we’ll focus on practical skills: how to evaluate images and video online, what red flags to look for, and how to slow down and verify in a digital environment designed to move fast.

Speaker Bio

Nicole Kraft is a professor of journalism practice at The Ohio State University, where she has taught Media Writing and Editing, Sports Journalism, Sports Media Relations, Feature Writing and Media Law and Ethics. She is also director of Ohio State’s Sports & Society Initiative. Nicole is author of the book “Always Get the Name of the Dog: A Guide to Media Interviewing “Writing Fabulous Features” and “100 Years in Harness.” She edited “Teaching Media Ethics,” released in 2024. She is an award-winning sportswriter who covers the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Associated Press, sports media for Forbes.com and horseracing for the Columbus Dispatch. Nicole was honored in 2024 as the Scripps-Howard Journalism Teacher of the Year. In 2022 she earned Ohio State’s Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Journalism Educators of America’s Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award.

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