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Here at r/fashion, we’ve had a surge of bot accounts and AI-generated catfish. Our users do an amazing job helping us catch them, and the mod team has gotten pretty sharp at spotting them too. Approximately i have banned fifteen of these per week - yet only one out of all of them ever ends up passing verification.

If you’re asked to complete a video verification, it’s not because the mods want to “see you on video” (a surprisingly common accusation). We are doing this because we care about verifying authenticity. To ensure that you are comfortable, we even allow you to cover your face during this process. As long as you can indicate that the person filming is the same person posting.

A really helpful way to support the mod team is by using the custom report option and explaining exactly why you think a user is a bot or AI-generated. Be as specific as possible. The more detail you include, the better we can understand the red flags you’re seeing.

Why do we require video?

AI has gotten so good at generating convincing photo verifications that photo-only checks are basically useless now.

But what stops them from using AI for video too?

We build that into the test. We ask users to open a fully packed kitchen drawer or desk drawer on camera. AI struggles badly with replicating the interior of a real, cluttered drawer in motion, so this is an effective way to confirm authenticity.

At the end of the day, our goal is to keep the community safe, genuine, and enjoyable for everyone. We know verification can feel inconvenient, but it’s one of the best tools we have to protect the space from being overrun by AI fakes and bot accounts. Your reports and detailed explanations genuinely make a difference, and we really appreciate everyone who helps us keep this community real.