Hedgehog in the grass: real or AI?

As shared

A hedgehog standing side-on in green grass.

Photo: George Chernilevsky, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (released by the photographer) · Source

REAL

This is real.

How sure we areHigh

Based on 1 strong and 0 supporting piece of evidence.

What we found

George Chernilevsky photographed this northern white-breasted hedgehog in the wild in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine, on 5 June 2020. The original file on Wikimedia Commons carries the camera's own data (a Canon EOS 750D with a 50mm lens) and was chosen by the Commons community as a featured picture.

Key facts

Original source: Photo: George Chernilevsky, via Wikimedia Commons
First published: Not recorded
Earlier appearances: Not recorded
The claim you saw: No caption recorded
Signs of AI: None that decide it

The evidence, strongest first

Strong Decides the answer

Original sourceThe photographer's original upload on Wikimedia Commons, with camera data (Canon EOS 750D, 5 June 2020)↗

Supporting Points the same way

None.

Weak Shown, not relied on

How it looksReal life is untidy. The grass is a tangle of live and dead blades, some of them crossing in front of the animal. The spines are uneven and a little dirty, and the light is flat, ordinary daylight. Nothing has been arranged to look pretty, and that is usually a good sign.

Detector scores are often wrong, so they never decide a verdict here.

What we couldn’t establish

Anything about the moment it shows beyond what the sources above record. If you know more, tell us.

Bottom line

Real: the original source shows it.

See the original ↗Think we’re wrong?

Was this explanation useful? ·

33% of players thought it was AI

How to check something like this yourself

Search for the picture itself. Put it into Google Lens or TinEye and look for the oldest and sharpest copy.
Find who posted it first. See what they said about it and what else they post. Makers of AI pictures often say so, and that label is lost when the picture is copied.
Look for a fact-check. Search the main claim with the words “fact check”. Anything widely shared has usually been looked at.
Then look closely. Zoom in on hands, writing, edges and the background.

A real picture can look fake. Odd light, unusual lenses and heavy compression all make genuine images seem wrong, which is why the source matters more than the look. See real photos people swear are fake.

Full guide: How to reverse-search a picture.

Hedgehog in the grass: real or AI?

This is real.

Strong Decides the answer

Supporting Points the same way

Weak Shown, not relied on

How to check something like this yourself

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