You just received a photo on WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter. The image makes you angry, sad or joyful, and the caption encourages you to share it as widely as possible. You're a little cautious, however, because the story seems too good to be true. You are right to be careful. Here are a few tips for verifying images and tracing a photo’s origin on your own.
If you've been brushing up on the FRANCE 24 Observers' verification guide, then you now have the know-how to verify images with a reverse image search or check for edits with some forensic tools. You should also have the basic instincts needed to be wary when scrolling through social media. This guide will show you some more advanced verification techniques that can help you dig a bit deeper into the origins of a post or a page.
WHAT WAS CLAIMED: A video shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy belly dancing at an event.
OUR VERDICT: The footage is not genuine. It has been digitally altered, and President Zelenskyy's face has been imposed onto the dancer's using deepfake techniques.
The caption reads, "When Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong UN met and none of them was willing to drink first."
The claim is inaccurate. The video has been edited to remove the moment that they drink. The full video shows that they did drink. The video shows the two toasted each other and then the other people at the table and then were clearly seen drinking.
The Verdict: False.
There is no evidence that the people of eastern Ukraine were subject to systematic extermination. [...]
The claim was spread widely after [Russian Foreign Affairs official] Maria Zakharova [...] stated in February 2022 that there was a "systematic extermination of the Donbas population." However, an OSCE monitoring mission active in Ukraine since 2014 has found no evidence of mass targeted killings of civilians in the Donbas region. The Russian Foreign Ministry has not provided any proof to back up Zakharova's claim.
"It's just that YouTube Music published the TOP artists in Ukraine. Not a single performer in Ukrainian."
That is false.
Musicians singing in Ukrainian dominated all of YouTube's weekly charts of top artists in Ukraine in 2023 as shown in YouTube's own data.
The F-16 in the video was digitally created as part of an ad. While F-16s
are being provided to Ukraine, it has not been confirmed that the aircraft
are in the country'
A New York Times spokesperson confirmed the headline was 'fabricated' in an email to Check Your Fact
Out of the 197 fact-checking articles our team wrote in 2023, 52 of them concerned the war in Ukraine. And 50 of those highlighted pro-Russian disinformation aimed at discrediting Kyiv and the Ukrainian war effort.
The Facebook video purports to show a CNN advertisement mentioning Ukraine on a billboard in Times Square. Kyiv is all over. Will the Russians stop there or go further? Discover this and more on Political Briefing, the text of the alleged advertisement reads. The video's caption claims 'few people believe Ukraine will win' its ongoing war with Russia.
The video is not authentic, however. CNN spokesperson Emily Kuhn denied the video's authenticity in an email to Reuters.