6.1 Provenance first
Before you ask what an image shows, ask where it came from. Provenance means the history of a post or image: who first published it, when, where, and how it travelled to you. Most misleading media is not a clever fake. It is a real image with a false caption, an old video shared as new, or a crop that removes the context.
For every post or image you rely on, try to answer four questions:
- Who first published it? The original uploader, not the account that shared it with you.
- When? The earliest time it appeared online, in UTC.
- Where? The platform and, if possible, the original post.
- What did the first version say? The original caption often differs from the one that reached you.
6.2 Finding the earliest version
Work backwards from the copy you have.
- Reverse image search with more than one search engine. Each indexes different sites, and one engine's empty result proves nothing.
- Search scenes, objects and frames, never a private person's face. Do not use face-recognition search services; identifying people is outside this course.
- For video, search still frames. Take a few distinctive frames (keyframes) and search each one. Search the opening frame and a frame from the middle; reposts are often trimmed.
- Search the words. Distinctive phrases from captions, on-screen text or the audio, in the local language as well as your own, often find earlier posts that image search misses.
- Sort by date where a platform allows it, and note the earliest time you find.
- Read the copy itself. Higher resolution, a wider frame and no watermarks or logos usually mean a copy is closer to the original. A news outlet's logo in the corner shows the image passed through that outlet, not that the outlet filmed it.
- Archive as you go (module 5), because the original may be deleted.
Stay within lawful access (module 2). Search what is publicly available; do not join closed groups under a false identity to look for an original.
6.3 Recycling, editing and synthetic media
Recycled media is the most common problem. Signs include an earlier copy with a different caption, a season or weather that does not fit the claimed date, and details such as shop signs or vehicles that did not exist at the claimed time.
Edited media can be altered in many ways:
| Change | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Misleading caption or crop | The earliest version shows more, or says something different |
| Objects added or removed | Repeated textures, smudged edges, shadows or reflections that do not match |
| Altered text | Letters that differ in size, spacing or sharpness from the rest of a sign or document |
| Changed speed or sound | Unnatural movement, audio that does not match what is on screen |
| Stitched video | Sudden jumps in light, angle or background between cuts |
Synthetic media, made wholly or partly by AI, can show tell-tale errors: garbled writing, inconsistent hands, jewellery or ears, objects that merge into each other, and backgrounds that do not make physical sense. These signs are getting rarer as tools improve.
Do not rely on a single detector. Automated "AI detection" scores are often wrong in both directions, and the absence of visible errors is not proof that an image is authentic. Some images carry content credentials, a signed record of how they were made; treat them as a claim to check, like any other metadata. The strongest evidence is still provenance: an original, traceable to a source in a position to capture it.
On SITREP, never post fake, edited or AI-generated media as if it were real, and never share old footage as new. If you post a manipulated image to discuss it, say so.
6.4 Reading an image without over-claiming
Keep three layers apart, as you did with sources in module 1:
- What I see: the visible content, described plainly.
- What I infer: your interpretation, with the reason for it.
- What I cannot tell: the questions the image does not answer.
| Over-claim | What the image may actually support |
|---|---|
| "Soldiers of a named force" | "People in matching dark clothing; no insignia visible" |
| "A strike on the depot" | "Heavy smoke rising from the direction of the depot; cause not visible" |
| "Thousands of protesters" | "A crowd filling the square as far as the frame shows" |
| "Taken today" | "Earliest copy found was posted today; capture date not established" |
An image shows a moment from one angle. It does not show what happened before or after, what lies outside the frame, or who is responsible.
6.5 Assessing accounts, not people
When a post comes from an account you do not know, judge whether the account is a credible source for this claim. Module 4 covers source reliability; for social accounts, look at:
- History: how long the account has posted, and whether its past posts fit its claimed role or location
- Originality: whether it posts its own material or mostly reposts others'
- Consistency: whether its name, description or focus has changed abruptly
- Coordination: whether it posts the same wording at the same time as many other accounts
6.6 Images on SITREP
- SITREP removes all metadata, including GPS location, from images before anyone else sees them. The picture itself can still give away a location, so check backgrounds, windows, faces and signs before you post, including in your own photos.
- New accounts cannot post images, images from newer accounts are blurred until staff review them, and at launch staff review every image in posts, replies and channels.
- Blur or avoid the faces of victims, children and bystanders when you can. Graphic but newsworthy images may be allowed behind a "Graphic content" blur; gore for its own sake is removed.
- Share images you have the right to share, and credit the source unless crediting would put them in danger.
- Community posts are not SITREP reporting.