Image Alteration & Manipulation Detection
Expose hidden image alterations, such as cloning, deletion, splicing, and content-aware edits, before they compromise your research.
Why Manipulation Matters
Roughly one out of every three manuscripts contains image integrity issues. Manipulations such as cloning, deletion, splicing, or content-aware edits can misrepresent results, mislead reviewers, and undermine trust.
Data Misinterpretation
Altered images can distort findings and affect credibility.
Rejection or Retraction
May lead to editorial rejection before publication—or a formal retraction afterward.
Reputational Damage
Harms the credibility of authors, institutions, and journals alike.
Loss of Trust in Science
Erodes reader confidence and affects downstream research.
Manipulation Types We Detect
Proofig AI detects a wide range of image alterations—from straightforward edits to sophisticated, algorithmic manipulations. The examples below illustrate some of the most common categories we identify, but our system continuously evolves to capture new and emerging manipulation methods across all image types. Each detection is surfaced transparently, allowing researchers to review and interpret results with full confidence.
Cloning
Duplication of pixels or regions within the same image.
Splicing
Merging parts from different images or sub-images into a single composite.
Deletion
Removal or masking of visual elements from an image.
Content-Aware Edits
Algorithmic filling/retouching that synthesizes replacement pixels to alter regions.
How It Works
Upload Your Manuscript Drag and drop your PDF or DOCX file—no formatting changes needed.
AI-Powered Analysis The system scans all images and sub-images for potential issues.
Review and Validate Check flagged images, investigate further, and decide what to include in the final report.
Download a Final Report Get a detailed PDF report your institution can use to uphold scientific integrity with leadership and auditors.
Trusted by Leading Institutions and Publishers
250K+ Manuscripts
Scanned using Proofig AI to uphold research integrity
Global
Trust
Adopted by top-tier publishers, journals, and research institutions
Seamless Integration
Integrated into pre-submission and editorial screening workflows
Integrity Support
Used by researchers, editors, and ethics officers worldwide
Proofig helped us catch issues we would’ve missed entirely.
High-Impact Journal
Further Resources
AI-generated scientific images are entering the published literature, and visual inspection alone cannot reliably catch them. Proofig AI's AI-Generated Image Identification capability is built specifically...
Automated image integrity tools carry a clear ethical responsibility: to surface suspected issues for human review, not to deliver verdicts. Responsible tools must minimize false...
AI-generated text detectors and AI-generated image detectors solve fundamentally different problems. A manuscript can pass text-based AI screening and still contain fabricated figures. Tools that...
Most image integrity issues in submitted manuscripts are unintentional, arising from figure preparation errors, mislabeled panels, or mistakes introduced by collaborators during data handling. Journal...
Publishers can integrate AI image integrity tools into their editorial workflows in a COPE-aligned way by using them as a screening layer that surfaces suspected...
PubShield is an institutional manuscript quality assurance hub, a product distinct from Proofig AI, that consolidates multiple integrity checks into a single workflow. It brings...