Even if recordings appear authentic at first glance, according to our cooperation partner at Saferinternet , a little help was often given - and not just to make them more beautiful for the advertising industry. Particularly in social networks, fake images, photos and videos are sometimes used specifically to spread hoaxes , support certain theories or create sentiment against population groups.
This is how images are manipulated
- Editing with graphics programs such as B. Photoshop (e.g. to adapt faces to an ideal of beauty)
- Context is changed - real images are attributed to a different event
- Photomontage: People or objects are removed from one image or subsequently copied into another
- Photo combination: Parts of different images are combined to form a new shot
- Image section: If only parts of the image are shown and information is omitted, the message of the image may change.
- Lighting conditions: Adjusting the light creates the impression of a different time of day or year.
- Viewing angle: This will e.g. B. the focus is on a specific event or person in the picture.
- Manipulation with audio: targeted videos with music or audio recordings (e.g. to give the impression that a video comes from another country)
- Artificial intelligence: so-called “deepfakes” whose images or audio have been processed using artificial intelligence
Tips to check the authenticity of images
- Check origin. A reverse image search on the Internet quickly reveals the actual origin of an image, e.g. B. with:
- https://images.google.com (Desktop),
- https://reverse.photos (desktop & mobile),
- www.tineye.com (desktop & mobile) or
- A reverse search for YouTube videos is available at www.citizenevidence.amnestyusa.org .
- Question the source. Which person or organization is behind the website or Facebook page? What is known about the authors? Look for signs of a credible source .
- Compare sources. Do the picture and the story fit together? Are there other sources reporting the same content?
- Query photo metadata. These provide, among other things, information about the location, date and time of the recording (e.g. with the tool www.exifdata.com ).
Related Links
- Rhetoric.ch: Examples of image manipulation techniques
- Buzzfeed.com: Examples of fake images spread after the school shooting
- Riotcontent.com – Experiment with eight viral fake videos
In line with this topic:
How to find out where a picture or video was taken!
How to use the image search!
To the checklist for evaluating online sources
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

