<https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2021/11/01/a-beginners-guide-to-social-media-verification/>
At Bellingcat, we research and investigate misinformation and
disinformation
<https://theconversation.com/misinformation-disinformation-and-hoaxes-whats-the-difference-158491>in
their many forms. Even the most logical, intelligent thinkers can be
convinced by claims that are entirely untrue. In the worst cases, the
impact can be severe.
On the subreddit QAnoncasualties
<https://www.reddit.com/r/QAnonCasualties/>, for example, distraught
users share stories about people close to them who have been taken in by
the QAnon conspiracy theory <https://www.bellingcat.com/tag/qanon/>. Yet
it’s not just QAnon that has sent people down the internet rabbithole.
In recent months, mass protests have taken place across the world
against vaccines and Covid-19 measures, often based around false and
misleading claims espoused on social media. Incidences of mis- and
disinformation, meanwhile, have targeted the likes of the Black Lives
Matter movement
<https://www.isdglobal.org/digital_dispatches/how-fake-news-goes-viral/>,
the rollout of 5G technology
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zbw492p>and even tragic events
such as the Beirut Port explosion
<https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2020/08/07/the-beirut-explosion-is-it-a-bird-is-it-a-plane-is-it-a-faked-video-of-a-missile/>of
2020.
*“What Advice Can You Give?”*
Bellingcat researchers are commonly approached by people who want to
know whether a story they have read online is true. Learning the basics
of verification can help answer a great deal of those questions.
Not only is verification a vital component of Belllingcat’s work, it
also plays a key part in the workshops we run. //
The following guide seeks to explain how we can be vigilant about the
videos and photos we see online while identifying those that contain
misleading, misattributed or false information.
Verification doesn’t need to be difficult. It also doesn’t require any
complicated algorithms or access to advanced tools or programs that
automatically detect whether an image may be fake or manipulated.
A critical mindset and a close look at the context of an image or post,
allied with simple tools such as a Google search or reverse image
platforms, are often all it takes to discover whether a piece of content
is genuine.
As this guide looks at some of the first steps for uncovering
misinformation and disinformation, it is not fully comprehensive. Other
good guides can be found here
<https://datajournalism.com/read/handbook/verification-3>, here
<https://researchguides.journalism.cuny.edu/factchecking-verification/UGC-verification>and
here <https://firstdraftnews.org/>. A list of further resources will be
included at the bottom of this article.
More seasoned open source researchers may find advanced guides or
articles more useful.
A selection of these can be found via the “Verification
<https://www.bellingcat.com/?s=verification>” tag on our website.
*First steps*
When looking at media shared online, it is helpful to be aware of some
basic fact-checking principles to look for.
1. *Originality*
During most high profile news incidents, a number of photographs and
videos will appear online. Amongst these are likely to be misleading,
recycled images and sometimes even outright fakes. It is therefore
important to ascertain the originality of the media shared. For example,
has a picture been repurposed or used before? Reverse image search
platforms, which we will discuss later, are extremely simple to use and
can quickly help uncover previous uses of an image online.
2. *Who* is the source of the photo or video online?
Consider who the source of the photo or video is, what platform it was
posted on and whether this may influence the veracity of the content.
Was it posted on a site with poor moderation standards? Is the poster an
anonymous individual or do they appear to be a real person? Have they
posted about conspiracies previously? What do the responses to the post
say and do they show a different side to the story?
3. *Where* was the photo or video taken?
This is an expansive topic and is an important component of the work we
do at Bellingcat. But if it can be proven that an event took place at a
location separate to that claimed in a video, there is a good chance we
can verify the information it contains is false. A guide to geolocation
can be found here
<https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2014/07/09/a-beginners-guide-to-geolocation/>.
4. *When* was the photo or video captured?
Once a location has been established, chronolocation helps us to
determine the time an event happened. If it can be proven that a video
or image was taken at a time long before or after that which is claimed
in a post, there is a good chance we can verify its claims as false. A
guide to chronolocation can be found here
<https://medium.com/quiztime/lining-up-shadows-2351ae106cec>.
5. *Why* was it captured?
People post media online for all kinds of reasons. Some may be genuine
but others may be doing so to further a political or personal viewpoint.
It is important to understand the motivation behind posts. For example,
if a post has been made by someone who has a history of posting about
misinformation, conspiracies or from a heavily biased viewpoint, it is
wise to exercise caution and carry out further checks as to the veracity
of what they are posting.
Keeping these fundamentals in mind, let’s look at how to conduct some
basic verification checks in practice.
[...]
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