Staying in control of your digital footprint
Recognizing a faked photo or video
What you will be able to do In 6 minutes, you'll know how to spot the signs of a faked photo or video before believing it or sharing it.
A shocking photo or video is circulating, with a caption that seems to concern you directly. It might be true. It might also be old, taken somewhere else, or even entirely fabricated by a program: this is called a faked image or video. No single sign, on its own, proves an image is 100% fake. But several clues added together, the source that posted it, details that contradict each other, the date it first appeared, are almost always enough to clear up the doubt before believing it or sharing it. We're going to practice together on a post and a photo that are entirely made up for this exercise. Nothing here is real, no one exists, no flood ever happened.
Simulated screen
I practice
This screen was drawn by us. Nothing is sent, nothing is installed, and no real brand is shown.
The situationA post shows a flooded street, with this caption: last night, right here where we live.
The interactive exercise needs JavaScript. The written step by step, just below, says exactly the same thing.
The written step by step
The same steps, in words, to read or print. This sheet works even without the exercise.
Spotting a visible inconsistency
Your turn Tap the most contradictory detail in this description.
Two shadows falling in opposite directions, when there's only one sun, almost always give away a montage or a fabricated image.
Looking at who posted it
Your turn Tap what should make you doubt the source of this photo the most.
An account created barely two weeks ago, with no other posts, should raise doubt before you even look closely at the image.
Checking before sharing
Your turn Tap what helps you most to find out where this photo really comes from.
A search based on the image itself finds where, and above all when, this photo already appeared elsewhere.
Reading the result
Your turn The search result appears. Tap what really matters.
The photo already appears on a page dated several years earlier: it's an old image, reused out of context.
Deciding what to do
Your turn You now know this photo is old. Tap what you do with the post.
You don't share an image you know is old or taken out of context, even if the scene it shows really did happen one day.
The sheet to keep
- A photo or video can be fabricated, or simply taken out of context: an old image presented as recent.
- The account that posts it matters as much as the image itself: a brand new account, with no other posts, should raise doubt.
- Shadows that don't fall the same way, a background that repeats itself, unreadable text in the background: these are inconsistencies that often give away a fake.
- A search based on the image itself finds its previous appearances, and so its real date.
- No sign is 100% certain. Doubt is enough not to share right away.
- Sharing "just in case" spreads just as much false information as being certain does.
The reflexes in this skill
I stop before I click
Urgency is the sign of a trap. A message that counts down the hours is trying to stop you from thinking. Putting your phone down for two minutes costs nothing, and it is almost always enough.
I look at WHO is speaking
A displayed name is just text, so it can be copied. What matters is the exact address of the sender, or their phone number. A delivery announced from an unknown mobile number is not a delivery.
No one serious ever rushes me
No threats, no countdown, no secret to keep. And asking for help is a reflex, not a failure: saying it out loud to someone makes most scams fall apart.
Two questions to check
Nothing is graded, and nothing is saved anywhere except in your own browser.
A photo circulating shows a disaster that seems hard to fully believe. Which action best checks its origin?
See the answer
I do a search based on the image itself, to see where and when it already appeared
The number of shares and the spelling say nothing about an image's real origin. A search based on the image finds its previous appearances, along with their date.
Which detail, inside a photo itself, is the most reliable sign of a possible fake?
See the answer
Shadows that don't fall in the same direction, even though there's only one sun
Blurriness or a gray sky can be perfectly real. Inconsistent shadows, on the other hand, almost always give away a montage or a fabricated image.
I've done it
Check this box once you can do this skill on your own.
Your progress stays in your own browser.