Use These Google Tools to Determine If a Photo Is Fake
Last year, Princes William and Harry hugged at the king’s coronation. Around the same time , an explosion occurred at the Pentagon. If you believe the photographs, then it is.
When you see (or receive) powerful and emotionally moving photos, it’s tempting to take them at face value and then forward them to your friends and family. But before you do, take a moment and ask yourself: could the image be fake?
You don’t have to just use your critical skills: Google Search offers free and easy-to-use tools to help you check if an image is real. With them, you can become a fact-checker and put pause on misleading information.
Google Fact Check Explorer
Google’s Fact Check Explorer can be your go-to search engine for checking false claims made through photos and videos. While it’s especially useful for journalists, anyone can use it to scan for the latest suspicious images or videos. The home page lists the latest photos and videos that have or have not been fact checked.
Enter a keyword (here I used “John Lennon”). Fact Check Explorer will list all the real and fake photos that have been fact-checked by news outlets, research institutions, and sites like Snopes. Each verified image or video will be displayed with a rating (True, False, Misleading, Incorrectly Attributed, etc.). Click on the link provided to learn more about what fact checking was done by the sources cited by Google.
Alternatively, you can search by image. Select the image icon next to the search field and enter a URL or upload an image. Fact Check Explorer performs reverse image searches and displays results in the same format as keyword searches.
For example, I tried this on a sample image (of a mysterious object found on Mars). I first uploaded the image and then loaded it into Fact Check Explorer. It turned out that the photo was genuine, but according to NASA, the secret of the image is quite commonplace – it is a wind-carved rock.
To include a fact check in search results, it must meet certain Google guidelines .
“About this image”
This image is a window into the history of any image, and it is a fantastic tool that we hardly use. Use it to get more information about any image – real or fake.
Do a Google image search or a reverse image search using keywords. Then click the three dots next to the image in the Google Images results, or click “More about this page” in the “About this result ” tool in the search results.
“About This Image” will tell you when the image first appeared online. Look at the new image more critically than the one that reputable sites have been using for a long time. Also read what published sources have to say about this. If an image appears on unknown blogs or social media posts with hyped claims, this is usually a red flag.
Fact Checking Fake Images Using Other Tools
Classic fact-checking methods are still relevant. An image search like the one above using Google Images, Google Lens, or any alternative reverse image search engine like TinEye will yield sufficient results. TinEye often finds matches that Google misses, so you won’t make mistakes when accurate reporting is needed.
Finally, let’s not forget the power of good old Google search or other search engines like Bing or DuckDuckGo. Try using keywords related to the image’s content, location, or event depicted.
There are image analysis sites such as Foto Forensics and Forensically . However, Google’s toolkit is powerful enough for random fact checking.
Tools aside, critical thinking is your best friend, especially when trying to spot well-planned deepfakes and the fake news surrounding them. Always remain skeptical of sensational claims.