“I Have Screenshots”: Why Courts Are Letting Fake Digital Evidence Send People to Prison

By: John Guidry

We know that people lie, but do they lie about really big things? Would someone lie about a rape? Could someone be evil enough to put a person in prison knowing they did nothing wrong? Yes.

My Wake-Up Call (1993): My first encounter with this dark side of human nature happened back in 1993 at the Public Defender’s Office.

• The Accusation: Two male strippers were arrested for raping a woman after a show. The victim wrote a detailed, multi-page account of the violent attack.
• The Twist: When police raided the apartment, the men started laughing. They pointed to a hidden video camera.
• The Truth: The tape showed a consensual, happy encounter. When the men refused to cuddle or give her a ride home, she called her fiancé in tears and invented the rape story to cover her tracks.
• The Lesson: Without that tape, those innocent jerks would be in prison today.

Is someone using fake texts or screenshots to frame you?

Screenshots are not proof. Call John today at (407) 423-1117.

The Case: Gilbert v. State (The Screenshot Conviction)

That 1993 case is why I have a problem with the ruling in Gilbert v. State, 2021 Fla. App. LEXIS 8481 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021).

• The Facts: Gilbert let a 16-year-old relative move in. They had a big argument. Shortly after, the girl told her boyfriend that Gilbert was abusing her.
• The Evidence: At trial, the State didn’t have DNA or a confession. They had Facebook Messenger Screenshots provided by the accuser.

The Problem: Gilbert’s defense was that she fabricated the abuse after the argument.

• The Defense Objection: The attorney argued the screenshots were not authenticated.
• The Reality: You can create a fake screenshot in 45 seconds using free websites like iPhoneFakeText or FakeDetail. I could make a screenshot right now of the Pope asking me for legal advice.

The Ruling: Admissible. The Appellate Court upheld the conviction, ruling that the screenshots were admissible because they could be “authenticated by appearance, contents, substance, and internal patterns.”

• Translation: Because the texts looked like they came from Gilbert and discussed the crime, the Court assumed they were real.

Why the Court Got It Wrong

The Appellate Court acknowledged that “neither we nor the supreme court have ruled on the proper authentication of Facebook messages.” Yet, they allowed them anyway.

• The Laziness: The State could have subpoenaed Facebook (Meta) for the official records. They could have hired a Digital Forensic Expert to extract the data from the phone.
• The Short Cut: Instead, they relied on a picture of a screen provided by a person with a motive to lie.

It is dangerous for our courts to admit screenshots without forcing prosecutors to do the hard work of verifying the technology.

John’s 2026 Update: The AI Fabrication Era

Note: In 2021, you had to manually type fake texts. In 2026, AI can generate entire fake chat histories with perfect timestamps and slang.

1. The “Native File” Demand In 2026, we never accept a screenshot at face value.

• The Strategy: We file a Motion in Limine to exclude any screenshot unless the State produces the Native File or the JSON Export from the social media platform.
• Why: A screenshot is just pixels. A Native File contains Metadata—the digital fingerprint that proves when a message was sent, what device sent it, and if it was edited. If they can’t produce the metadata, we argue the screenshot is a forgery.

2. Deepfake Chat Logs We are now seeing cases where accusers use AI to generate “Exported Chat Logs” that look authentic to the naked eye.

• The Defense: We subpoena the platform directly (Instagram, Discord, WhatsApp). If the platform’s servers don’t show the message, the “log” the victim provided is a fake. In Gilbert, the State didn’t bother to check the servers—today, we force them to.

3. “Spoofing” Apps are Everywhere It is incredibly easy to “Spoof” a phone number, making it look like you sent a text that actually came from the accuser’s second phone.

• The Fix: We analyze Cell Tower Triangulation. If the “text from you” originated from a device sitting in the accuser’s house while you were at work, we can prove it wasn’t you.

Don’t Let a Pixel Send You to Prison

In the digital age, seeing is not believing. If the evidence against you is on a screen, it can be faked. We know how to dig into the code to find the truth.

Call me at (407) 423-1117. Let’s authenticate the evidence.

About John Guidry II

John Guidry II is a seasoned criminal defense attorney and founder of the Law Firm of John P. Guidry II, P.A., located in downtown Orlando next to the Orange County Courthouse, where he has practiced for over 30 years. With more than three decades of experience defending clients throughout Central Florida since 1993, Guidry has successfully defended thousands of cases in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Brevard, Lake, and Volusia counties. He has built a reputation for his strategic approach to criminal defense, focusing on pretrial motions and case dismissals rather than jury trials.

Guidry earned both his Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration from St. Louis University in 1993. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. His practice encompasses the full spectrum of Florida state criminal charges, with a particular emphasis on achieving favorable outcomes through thorough pretrial preparation and motion practice.

Beyond the courtroom, Guidry is a prolific legal educator who has authored over 400 articles on criminal defense topics. He shares his legal expertise through his popular YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, where he has built a substantial following of people eager to learn about the law. His educational content breaks down complex legal concepts into accessible information for the general public.

When not practicing law, Guidry enjoys tennis and pickleball, and loves to travel. Drawing from his background as a former recording studio owner and music video producer in the Orlando area, he brings a creative perspective to his legal practice and continues to apply his passion for video production to his educational content.