Image verification
Has this image appeared before?
Find earlier copies, check the date and context, then record the result with sources.
The question in front of me
You want to find the original context and earlier copies of an image shared on social media.
News verification, social media claims, and reused images.
Look for earlier copies first
Check the image in this order
Write the claim
Describe the claim in one neutral sentence.
The image and the claim are not mixed.
Search for older copies
Use more than one reverse-image or archive source.
Dates and publishers are recorded.
List visible clues
Separate signs, buildings, roads, terrain, weather, and shadows from interpretation.
Clues and guesses are separate.
Add a confidence label
Use verified, likely, possible, unverified, or false.
Supporting and weakening points are both visible.
Sources I open
Start with these tools
What I would be careful with here
Know the boundary first
Analyst note
What I can confirm: earlier copies, publication dates, and stable details visible in the image. What I still cannot confirm: the first uploader, the capture moment, or context the pixels do not contain.
Create a verification noteRelated sources
Sources for going deeper
- AFP Fact CheckVerification and fact-checkingAgence France-Presse fact-checking site covering viral claims, images, videos, and misinformation.
- Bellingcat Online Investigation ToolkitVerification and fact-checkingCurated toolkit and guides for open-source investigation methods.
- Bing Visual SearchImage and reverse-image searchMicrosoft visual search tool for images, products, landmarks, and similar visuals.
- BuiltWithWeb history and archivesTechnology profiler and historical technology lookup for websites.
- Common CrawlWeb history and archivesOpen web crawl corpus used for large-scale research and historical analysis.
- ExifToolImage and reverse-image searchCommand-line utility for reading, writing, and comparing image and media metadata.