In the Age of Digital Technologies, the falsification of images has become a common occurrence, and checking the reliability of photographs is an important skill, especially for journalists, researchers and everyone who wants to avoid the spread of disinformation. In this instructions, we will talk about how to check the authenticity of photos using various tools.
Disclaimer
Checking photos for reliability is a process that requires an integrated approach. Google Reverse Image Search and Tineye will help you determine the image source and find its original, and Forensically will identify hidden manipulations.
Do not forget that even the best tools have their restrictions, and the final result of the test depends on your attentiveness and the ability to analyze the context in which the image is used. The combination of technology and critical thinking is the key to the successful verification of media content.
Base: Google Reverse Image Search
Google Reverse Image Search is one of the most popular tools to check for reliability. This tool allows you to download the image or insert it by the URL to find copies of the image on the Internet.
How to use:
- Go to Google Images.
- Click on the camera icon in the search bar.
- Download the image or insert it by the URL.
- Google will search for a loaded image and show all the results that he has toned, where this image or similar images were used earlier.
Restrictions
- Like other techno -giants, Google regularly adjusts the privacy policy and search issuance under pressure from legislators from different countries. Therefore, for example, a search by persons can be extremely difficult if the photo is not a public person, but a private person.
- If the image is superpopular, data on the first publication may be inaccurate.
Similarly, the search for images from Yandex works. Sometimes its results can be more accurate than Google.
Tineye check
Tineye is a powerful tool for a reverse search for images that helps to track the origin of images and find their originals, as well as compare different versions of the file. Unlike Google, Tineye provides the opportunity to sort results by date, which allows you to accurately assume when the image first appeared on the Internet.
How to use:
- Go to the site Tineye.
- Download the image or insert it into the search bar.
- Tineye will analyze the image and show all the sites on which it appeared, including information about the date of the first appearance.
Restrictions
- Tineye does not index all the images and not at once. This tool copes with viral pictures that are published some time ago.
Analysis using Forensically
Forensically is an online tool that provides advanced images analysis methods such as Error Level Analysis (Ela), metadata analysis and manipulation identification. This tool is especially useful for identifying hidden changes in images that can be invisible to the naked eye.
How to use:
- Go to the site Forensically.
- Download the image you want to check.
- Use various analysis tools such as Ela to identify images that could be changed or added.
Restrictions
- It should be remembered that this is not a magic wand and carefully study the instructions for the tool. So, for example, this tool is not suitable for studying stop cadres from the video.
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- Google Dorks - what is it and why use them
Photo on the cover: Dall-E
