Case 08 / Disaster verification
Disaster image verification
Verify whether a disaster photo or video really belongs to the claimed event by using reverse image search, archives, and date context.
Real-case basis: Old photos recirculated after the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes.
Data package
A photo or clip shared with a disaster caption
Visible people, buildings, debris, weather, and location clues
Reverse image results and older news/archive copies
Official event date and location context
Task
Find older copies and record publication dates.
Compare the older context with the new claim.
Explain if the image is real but not from the current event.
Hint
Emotional images often move quickly between contexts.
Real footage can still be used in a false claim.
Agency captions and older news pages can be strong context evidence.
Answer key
The important result is whether the image existed before the disaster date.
AFP showed that some images were old or from a different context.
The report should say the image does not verify the new event.
Weak analysis example
The photo shows rubble and the caption says earthquake, so it must be from the latest earthquake.
Careful report example
Reverse search shows the image was published before the event in another context. It may be a real image, but it is not evidence of this disaster.