How to Identify Altered Images on Social Media and News Sites?

Netizens pay attention to visuals, and entities aiming to propagate misinformation usually take advantage of this to misguide people and spread false narratives among them. Altered images are their go-to tool for this purpose as they can easily rewrite the narrative. The average attention span is decreasing significantly, and people don’t put much time into investigating and verifying anything that goes viral.

Resultantly, it has become easier for anyone to spread false news, evoke emotions, inflame tensions, and mislead millions. Given this, you shouldn’t believe anything, especially visuals, you see online, and share them immediately. Verify the authenticity of the image by identifying altered visuals before sharing it further. Doing so will help you become a confident fact-checker rather than a passive viewer.

However, you must become familiar with effective techniques to identify altered and misrepresented images on social media and news outlets. This article walks you through all these techniques. Read on to learn more.

Turn to the Reverse Image Search Technique

The reverse image search mechanism provides you with an easy way to use the underlying image as a query to find all the matches available across the web. Just ensure that you are using an advanced tool that can find similar images online across various reputable databases. The use of such a tool will also help you retrieve results from region-specific databases and easily identify regional reposts.

Once you upload the query, the tool will start analyzing the image and comparing its visual traits and metadata with billions of pictures across the web to find matching instances. Go through the displayed results and pay attention to each of them. If you find similar visuals with stock-photo watermarks or mismatched context, even if posted years ago, it could be a red flag.

You should look for the earliest publication dates and trace the source to verify the authenticity. Additionally, if you are unable to find accurate matches, consider making little tweaks to the image used as a query, such as cropping, zooming, or rotating it. Compare the newly found image and previously published matches to spot alterations and inform others about the misuse of the image.

Perform a Face Search

If the suspicious yet viral image features various individuals, you can also consider performing a face search to trace its origin and verify its authenticity. You only need to use an advanced tool that performs a specialized form of reverse look that focuses on human faces. Such a tool extracts facial features from the underlying image and performs a Search for Similar Faces Online.

The face finder then compares extracted facial features against various social profiles, stock repositories, news archives, and public databases to dig up details about the captured individual. Once you get relevant matches, review them for verified social media accounts, mismatched names, inconsistent locations, and signs of deepfake visuals.

Just ensure that you are comparing more than one match before drawing any conclusion. If you see a face popping up on a stock photo website, the image intends to mislead people. Additionally, you must also check the publication date and description accompanying the matches found by the face search tool to reach a conclusion. If you see any deepfake signs, the image is probably altered.

Analyze EXIF Metadata

Exif metadata attached to an image can unlock a wealth of information and help you draw a conclusion about its authenticity. You just need to check the properties of an image with your PC or use an online resource for EXIF analysis to get such details. Doing so will help you uncover the make and model of the camera used to capture an image.

Additionally, you will get to know the timestamp and GPS coordinates of the image. Viewing EXIF metadata will also help you figure out if an image has been edited. If you see stripped or inconsistent metadata, the image is likely edited, modified, or altered to mislead others. Doing so will also help you know if the image has been resaved multiple times.

Conduct Error-Level Analysis (ELA)

You can also consider conducting error-level analysis of a suspicious image by uploading it to a specialized digital forensics tool. Once you feed the image, the tool will generate an ELA map for you so that you can easily determine anomalies. Focus on areas with varying compression while examining the ELA map to verify the authenticity of a visual.

The edited or retouched regions usually reflect a distinct block of brighter or darker pixels, compared to the rest of the picture. Moreover, keep your focus on edges around faces, objects, or backgrounds to identify the signs of alteration. Conducting such an analysis will help you catch retouched or composite sections within a visual that usually slip past the naked human eye.

Inspect the Image for Lighting and Shadow Consistency

In addition to relying on automated solutions, you can also bank on your gut feeling and critical analysis. So, consider inspecting the suspicious visual on your own and paying attention to shadow and lighting consistency. If you find any inconsistencies while checking for these two elements, the likelihood of an image being altered is significantly higher. Here is how you can do it:

Ensure that the shadow follows the direction for all other elements.Verify the uniformity of light source intensity and color temperature.Keep an eye out for floating objects and faces that mismatch the scene’s lighting.Map shadow angles using sketch overlays or drawing tools.

Inconsistent light doesn’t go well with objects or people picked from elsewhere for alteration.

Pursue Noise and Pixel-Level Forensics

You can also consider performing noise and pixel-level forensics to verify the authenticity of an apparently altered image that is being used to mislead people. You can use a digital forensics tool and view patterns to reach a conclusion. Reviewing noise patterns across the image could be a great help. Genuine photos reflect uniform sensor noise, while composites usually fail to do so.

Consider leveraging normalization options offered by a digital forensics tool to uncover mismatched grains. Additionally, keep an eye out for oddly smoother areas that are located right next to highly textured regions of an image. Performing noise and pixel-level analysis helps you easily spot smoothing filters or pasted elements.

Detect Deepfakes by Using AI

Deepfakes are no longer rare cases. In fact, the easier accessibility of AI content creation tools has made it easier for anyone to create deepfakes. Hence, you should rule out the likelihood of deepfakes while analyzing any visual for authenticity. You can leverage an advanced deepfake detection tool that uses AI-driven algorithms to identify deepfake signs.

Run the visual through the tool and let it examine the input thoroughly for an accurate report. Once the report is available, review the probability scores for manipulation. You should also check for face-swap markers. Pay attention to digital artifacts, such as eye reflections or warped skin. Using this technique will help you catch deepfake characteristics that are usually overlooked by the human eye.

Verify Context and Source

Another technique to identify altered images is verification of context and source. Trace the image’s ownership with the help of source citations. Additionally, analyze the uploader for credibility and look for signs that reaffirm it, such as a verified account, popularity, and affiliation with an official agency.

Moreover, consider cross-referencing the image with trusted news outlets or eyewitness reports. You should also reach out to the original photographers (if possible) to leave no stone unturned for the confirmation of the authenticity of an image. The availability of a credible source trail will outdo any single forensic clue that might make any image look suspicious.

In the End

Verifying authenticity before sharing or reposting any viral visual should be your priority, as images carry instant credibility, and common netizens don’t feel the need to verify them. You should understand that an altered or misrepresented photo can rewrite history, tarnish reputations, or trigger false trends.

However, fact-checking can help you reinforce your credibility and prevent the spread of misinformation. We have discussed a few techniques you can use to keep your social media feed and news sources honest and become a credible fact-checker. So, follow them to mitigate the spread of misinformation across the web!

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