Image search is a basic fact-checking tool for information found on web sites and on social media. Many newsrooms rely on social media for information from conflict zones and for breaking news about natural disasters, such as an earthquake, or human-caused disasters, such as a terrorist act. User generated content is not a reliable source for news and every piece of information has to be verified before it is used as journalistic material. Basic image search includes reverse search with Google, or with add-ons like RevEye, which uses four search engines with complementary capabilities, to identify the source and the context of an image. Reverse search can be used with snapshots from a video clip, too. Another technique is the analysis of a file’s metadata. Images and videos online are not free to use – journalists have to ask for permission and, eventually, sign an agreement and compensate the owner of the image. Asking permission is a good opportunity to ask for the original file. Social platforms delete metadata, such as the time and the place a picture is taken, to protect privacy, but these data are crucial in establishing the authenticity of a picture or a video. There are several online tools to verify metadata, including InVid and Image Verification Assistant.
Moving on to analysis of the elements in a photograph or video, journalists verify if there is a logical link between what the image shows and what the text claims it shows. Verification elements include type of clothing, buildings, and natural features, like a lake, the sea, mountains, and type of light and weather. With the help of online maps, sun calculators, weather reports and street views, journalists can verify if a picture or a video was made at the time and in the place, and depicts the action, the author claims. More sophisticated verification methods include the use of multiple sources for the same event or process, as was the case with the 2021 US Capitol attack, the 2022 killing of an American-Palestinian journalist, and the Muslim detention camps in China.
