SOCMINT
Social media verification
SOCMINT reviews social media content by source, date, context, and cross-platform checks. This section is for passive, public, and safe verification.
First steps
- Reduce the claim to text without relying on the person who shared it.
- Look for the first source or earliest visible copy.
- Check image, date, and account context separately.
- Do not treat a screenshot as proof by itself.
Limits
- Do not interact with a target unnecessarily.
- Do not try to access private accounts.
- Do not amplify private details that could lead to targeting.
What this field covers
A quick scope view.
First-source search
Archive capture
Timeline checks
Account-context review
Cross-platform comparison
Related source collections
Good places to start in this field.
Verification and fact-checking
AFP Fact Check
Agence France-Presse fact-checking site covering viral claims, images, videos, and misinformation.
Open sourceVerification and fact-checking
Bellingcat Online Investigation Toolkit
Curated toolkit and guides for open-source investigation methods.
Open sourceImage and reverse-image search
Bing Visual Search
Microsoft visual search tool for images, products, landmarks, and similar visuals.
Open sourceSocial media research
Bluesky Search
Search page for public Bluesky posts and accounts.
Open sourceImage and reverse-image search
ExifTool
Command-line utility for reading, writing, and comparing image and media metadata.
Open sourceImage and reverse-image search
FotoForensics
Educational image analysis site with error level analysis and metadata tools.
Open source