You see an outrageous or unbelievable photo online. But this picture is not necessarily real.
How can you tell if changes have been made to an image?
Here are some tips to find out the origin of the photo!
Photographs are used as evidence to illustrate the context of a story in breaking news or crisis zones.
In the case of “unbelievable but true” stories, certain images are such, convincing Josipko that something really happened. Sometimes these pictures also tell the story of what happened and how.
Take for example the burning of the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The rumor could have been spread on Twitter for the sake of going viral, but as pictures from different angles and sources surfaced, it became clear that it was probably true.
But we observe that in many cases people post old photos, altered photos or completely fake photos and the aim is just to get attention.
The bigger the story or event, the more likely it is that the photos you see on social media or on the Internet are actually fake.
We have developed these guidelines to identify fake images.
If you suspect a fake photo, what to do now?
Editing photos has become very easy thanks to software and editing apps.
So, if you have any doubts, you should first find out the origin of the image.
The first quick way to do this is to do a reverse image search.
This lets you know if this image has ever been used before, if so! So when and how?
What tools can be used for reverse image search?
There are a variety of free reverse image search tools available in the market, which can be used.
Google Reverse Image Search:
The most popular tool is Google’s reverse image search engine. This tool has two major advantages.
Due to the popularity and reach of this search engine, Google has collected the most data over the years.
Another big advantage of Google is that it has an integrated facial recognition tool, which makes it very easy to find people’s photos. It also allows you to search images by size.
Yandex and TinEye:
Both are good alternative image search engines to Google. Never rely on just one tool to do the job well.
Yandex is a Russian alternative to Google, which can give you different and sometimes better results
The big advantage of TinEye is that it lets you sort results by date.
So with this tool you can know when the image was uploaded. Unlike other tools, TinyEye Search Engine can’t tell you when a photo was first shared on Facebook, Instagram, or messaging apps, but it does tell you when and on which website or Twitter it was published.
There is also a tool, which combines all relevant image search engines and you can install it as a plugin in your browser. Its name is InViD/WeVerify plugin.
The plugin also has some additional features, which are great for checking images as well.
They also include an image magnifier, a metadata analysis tool (if available) and a set of forensic tools.
Old photos or altered content?
There are also cases, where real images are altered with software like Photoshop to tell a different story.\
In such a case, the use of image forensics helps to detect whether an image has been manipulated or tampered with. Photo Forensics is one such tool.
This tool analyzes the uploaded image to see if it has been modified or altered.
There are also cases, where real images are altered with software like Photoshop to tell a different story.
In such a case, the use of image forensics helps to detect whether an image has been manipulated or tampered with.
Photo Forensics is one such tool. This tool analyzes the uploaded image to see if it has been modified or altered.
The most used feature in this tool is called ‘Noise Analysis’. You can see the difference in pixel density in the converted image.
Whenever you add something to an image, you will most likely never get the same ‘pixel density’ as the original image.
The more times you change the image, the ‘noise level’ will increase. Another helpful feature in this tool is Error Level Analysis (ELA).
ELA characterizes the difference in JPEG compression rate.
Greta Thunberg’s time-traveling photo of famous environmentalist Greta Thunberg went viral in November 2019.
The first thought of many experts was that this picture has been altered. A girl looks exactly like Greta Thunberg in this archive photo.
We used the same tool to test this image and it turned out to be real.
Be careful with screenshots.
But you shouldn’t just be careful with images. Screenshots may also be used out of context or altered.
Screenshots posted on social media platforms are not reliable proof that the statements were posted by the original profile.
You can add any possible statement to any account and make the scam look real.]
Even the best tools have flaws
Finally, keep in mind that no tool is perfect. So the best way is always to search images with different tools and then compare the results.
If you’re in doubt about a particular photo, use photo verification tools and be sure to read the story attached to the photo.
If it looks real, it might be a real photo, but if you have even the slightest doubt, don’t post or share the photo until it’s verified.
Otherwise you will also join the list of people, who have been cheated by altered content.
