Fake screenshots: how they get made and caught

Screenshots that look like real posts are often false. The evidence is checkable in minutes. A guide by Shayan Sardarizadeh for the Global Investigative Journalism Network lists the recipes. Fabricators use photo apps, generator sites, or an edit of the code on a real post. One fact anchors the topic: a screenshot is an image, not a clickable post. The fabrications fail basic checks. The account timeline shows no such post. The archive holds no record. Fonts and dates betray the edit. X calls deceptively altered media misleading under its authenticity rules. The sections below cover the methods, the tells, one documented failure, and the checks that settle a doubtful image. How are fake screenshots made? The recipes repeat across formats. A maker retouches a real capture in an image editor. Another types invented text into a generator site. A third opens the browser inspector on a real post and rewrites it.

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