Spot the Fake: Gamified Tools for Tackling AI-Generated Visual Misinformation
Can a game help us recognize fake images created by artificial intelligence? Visual disinformation has become increasingly common and accessible, especially on platforms like Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Today, anyone can generate synthetic images without technical skills. With GenAI enabling hyper-realistic fake media, the growing risk of manipulation has been recognized as a top global threat (World Economic Forum, Davos). This calls for new approaches to ‘inoculate’ users against visual misinformation.
This research uses gamification to address the urgent challenge posed by synthetic media. In the game, users classify real and AI-generated images, individually or in a matrix (like a reCAPTCHA), receiving immediate feedback. Next, trust-building mechanisms, inspired by platforms like Airbnb (e.g., ratings, badges), will be introduced to examine their effect on user behavior. Data sources include gameplay analytics, pre/post-game self-evaluations, and demographics. The research contributes to theories of psychological inoculation, gamification, and digital trust, and advances our understanding of human-information behavior in a complex visual digital landscape.
References:
- Epstein, Z., Lin, H., Pennycook, G., & Rand, D. (2022). How many others have shared this? Experimentally investigating the effects of social cues on engagement, misinformation, and unpredictability on social media. arXiv preprint arXiv: 2207.07562.
- Roozenbeek, J., van der Linden, S., Goldberg, B., Rathje, S., & Lewandowsky, S. (2022). Psychological inoculation improves resilience against misinformation on social media. Science advances, 8(34), eabo6254.? DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo6254
Main Research Topics
- Gamification
- AI-Generated Media
- Visual Misinformation
- Psychological Inoculation
- Digital Trust
Curriculum Vitae
- Management Information Systems Department, College of Management Academic Studies – Academic Head
- Technology and Information Management, Coller School of Management, Tel Aviv University
- Digital Game Design (MDes), Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art
- Department of Information and Knowledge Management and School of Business Administration, University of Haifa
- Ph.D. in Information and Knowledge Management, University of Haifa- Best Doctoral Award
Publications and Presentations
- Orr, E., Richter, G., & Rafaeli, S. (in press). Who Plays? The Tension Between User Autonomy and Designer Control in Gamified Systems. Persuasive Technology, Communications in Computer and Information Science (Vol. 2542). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97177-8_8
- Rusho, Y., Richter, G., Raban, D.R. (2024). Assessing the Value of Information in an Augmented Reality City Experience. Future Internet, 16(12), 448. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16120448
- Richter, G., Raban, D. R., & Rafaeli, S. (2015). Studying gamification: The effect of rewards and incentives on motivation. In T. Reiners and L.C. Wood (Eds.), Gamification in education and business (pp. 21-46). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10208-5_2
- Richter, G. (2025). Digital Immunization: Gamifying Detection of AI-Generated Visual Misinformation. PSA 75th Annual International Conference, April 14 – 16 2025, Birmingham UK, SAGE Publishing.
- Richter, G., Ken-Dror Feldman, D. (2024). Training for Truth: Gamified Inoculation Against Generative AI Visual Fakes. Shifting AI Controversies – Prompts, Provocations & Problematisations for Society-Centered AI, the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) Germany.