They could not be accidentally mistaken for realistic art works, because they do not depict things as they appear in reality. Abstract works of art may resemble real objects, and can thus be symbolic for real object. Abstract works of art may not even resemble anything in reality. They can be images created in artists mind that he or she brings into this world for us to put our own meaning to. This is a difficult question because these days the camera can lie as much as a painting, and not just by using lighting and angling.
Photographs can manipulate reality digitally as much as any painting can.
Traditionally though, photographs were thought of reality captured. Thomas LeClear's painting, Interior with Portraits, seems to be making a joke of this. His painting shows that a camera can lie and try to appear realistic just as well as a painting can. The irony is that while the photographer in his painting is idealizing the setting, LeClear completely idealized the setting of the painting. Therefore, it is hard to label either paintings or photographs as truly realistic.