Social media is brimming with photos and videos linked to the news of the day. Some are legitimate, and some are fake — and it's not always easy to tell what's what. But if you have an internet connection, you have access to tools that let you do your own digital fact-checking. Day 6 talks to Craig Silverman, editor...
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Day 68:01D.I.Y. Verification on Breaking News
Social media is brimming with photos and videos linked to the news of the day. Some are legitimate, and some are fake — and it's not always easy to tell what's what. But if you have an internet connection, you have access to tools that let you do your own digital fact-checking. Day 6 talks to Craig Silverman, editor of Regret the Error and the Verification Handbook, about simple techniques people can use to root out hoaxes.
But can you tell what's fake and what's real at a glance? See if you can weed out the fake from the real ones from these examples of user-generated content that have been widely shared on social media.
Statue of Liberty pummelled by Hurricane Sandy
Answer
The photo is fake. Extraordinary photos of Hurricane Sandy surfaced all over social media as it hit the U.S. This one showed an American landmark bombarded by giant waves. As the BBC reported, the image is actually from the movie Day After Tomorrow not what it purported to be. [Photo: YourAnonNews/Twitter]
Syrian boy sleeps between parents' graves
Answer
The photo is fake. Shared widely in social medial, this image purportedly depicts an orphaned Syrian boy lying between the graves of his parents. But instead of chronicling the conflict in Syria, this picture is actually a staged photo taken by Saudi Arabian photographer Abdul Aziz al Otaibi for an art project. In an interview with reporter Harald Doornbos, who is credited with first debunking the image, al Otaibi said he was "shocked how people have twisted my picture." The boy in the photo is his nephew, and the graves are fake. Al Otaibi tried to dispel the misinformation on his own Twitter account. [Photo: Abdul Aziz al Otaibi]
Egyptian monuments covered in snow
Answer
The photo is fake. The image circulated widely in Facebook and Twitter after a rare snowstorm in the region, but media outlets including Buzzfeed pointed out the area around the monument didn't match photos of the real Sphinx in Egypt. They point to what appears to be the tip of the Eiffel Tower in the background. It's a miniature model located in the Tobu World Square theme park in Japan, which has miniatures of other world landmarks. [Photo: Twitter]
Ape shoots AK-47
Answer
The video is fake. Visuals show a soldier handing over a machine gun to an ape, and the animal shooting. The video was released as promotion for the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. [Video: 20th Century Fox]
Fox naps on Ottawa bus
Answer
The photo is real. An Ottawa bus employee discovered the fox sleeping on a city bus parked in the garage for regular maintenance. The fox got onboard the bus through the door, which had been left open. » CBC story [Photo: OC Transpo]
More verification tools
Citizen Evidence Lab, developed by Amnesty International, offers how-to tips on verifying the authenticity of online images and videos
How to extract exact upload time and thumbnails from YouTube videos
How to perform a reverse image search
How to extract audio only from a YouTube video
How to download and preserve videos
How to determine the exact (local) upload time of a YouTube video
