The manipulation and verification of images: In media reporting - especially in social networks - fake photos and videos are often used specifically to create false reports, fake news, hoaxes, etc. to circulate , to support certain theories or to create sentiment against population groups.

Manipulation of images – this is how it works

  • Editing with graphics programs such as B. Photoshop (e.g. to adapt faces to an ideal of beauty).
  • Change of context: 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: Only parts of an image are shown and information is omitted in order to change the message of the image.
  • Lighting conditions: Adjusting the light creates the impression of a different time of day or year.
  • Changing the viewing angle, e.g. B. to focus on a specific event or person in the picture.
  • Manipulation with audio: deliberately adding music or audio recordings to videos (e.g. to give the impression that a video comes from another country).
  • Use of artificial intelligence to edit images or audio ( deep fakes ).

This is how you can check images on the Internet

  • Question the source. Who is behind the website or social media account where the image was posted? What is known about the authors? Look for signs of a credible source .
  • Compare sources. Is the story behind the picture even correct? Are other media also reporting on this?
  • 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), www.tineye.com (desktop & mobile) www.imageraider.com (desktop and mobile) or Google Lens (app). A reverse search for YouTube videos is e.g. B. possible at www.citizenevidence.amnestyusa.org .
  • fact checkers . These check online content for its truthfulness and provide information about images that have already been exposed as fake.
  • 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 ).

Further links on the topic of manipulating images

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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 )