Apply a 5-step verification protocol to viral content
Detect common deepfake artefacts and audio clones
Practise the pause-before-sharing habit
The 5-step protocol
1 Source: who first posted it, and what do they gain? 2 Date: is it old content recycled? 3 Place: reverse-image-search every photo. 4 Corroboration: do two independent reputable outlets confirm? 5 Emotion: is it engineered to make me angry or afraid? Anger is a manipulation signature.
Deepfake artefacts
Watch hands, teeth, ear/hairline edges, blink patterns and lip-sync drift; listen for breathless speech and metallic tone. Audio clones often lack breaths and room tone. Absence of artefacts proves nothing, but presence proves plenty.
The pause habit
Institutionalise a 10-minute rule: nothing emotional gets shared for ten minutes, during which the protocol runs. Most viral harm dies in that pause. In families and WhatsApp groups, the pause is a public health measure.
Key terms
Provenance
Origin history of a piece of content.
Reverse image search
Finding earlier uses of an image online.
Deepfake artefacts
Visual/audio flaws betraying synthesis.
Prebunking
Warning people about manipulation tactics in advance.
🛠 Hands-on task: Verify one viral claim
Tools: Reverse image search + search engine
Pick a claim/image circulating in your groups this week.
Run all 5 protocol steps, documenting each.
Write a 3-line verdict: confirmed / unverified / false, with reasons.
Key takeaways: Before you go, three takeaways from this lesson. One: Apply a 5-step verification protocol to viral content. Two: Detect common deepfake artefacts and audio clones. Three: Practise the pause-before-sharing habit. And your hands-on task: verify one viral claim. Pick a claim/image circulating in your groups this week. When it is done, mark the lesson complete on your dashboard, keep the artifact for your portfolio, and step into the next lesson. I will see you there.
