AMID THE ALARMING IMAGES OF RUSSIA'S INVASION OF UKRAINE OVER THE PAST FEW
DAYS, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE ALSO SEEN MISLEADING, MANIPULATED OR FALSE
INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFLICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS SUCH AS FACEBOOK,
TWITTER, TIKTOK AND TELEGRAM.
ONE EXAMPLE IS THIS VIDEO OF MILITARY JETS POSTED TO TIKTOK, WHICH IS
HISTORICAL FOOTAGE BUT CAPTIONED AS LIVE VIDEO OF THE SITUATION IN UKRAINE.
OLD FOOTAGE, REBADGED ON TIKTOK AS THE LATEST FROM UKRAINE. TIKTOK
VISUALS, BECAUSE OF THEIR PERSUASIVE POTENTIAL AND ATTENTION-GRABBING NATURE,
ARE AN ESPECIALLY POTENT CHOICE FOR THOSE SEEKING TO MISLEAD. WHERE CREATING,
EDITING OR SHARING INAUTHENTIC VISUAL CONTENT ISN'T SATIRE OR ART, IT IS
USUALLY POLITICALLY OR ECONOMICALLY MOTIVATED.

ARE WE MOST CREATIVE WHEN WE'RE ALONE?
HERE'S WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS AIM TO DISTRACT, CONFUSE, MANIPULATE AND SOW DIVISION,
DISCORD, AND UNCERTAINTY IN THE COMMUNITY. THIS IS A COMMON STRATEGY FOR HIGHLY
POLARISED NATIONS WHERE SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITIES, DISENFRANCHISEMENT AND
PROPAGANDA ARE PREVALENT.
HOW IS THIS FAKE CONTENT CREATED AND SPREAD, WHAT'S BEING DONE TO DEBUNK IT,
AND HOW CAN YOU ENSURE YOU DON'T FALL FOR IT YOURSELF?
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON FAKERY TECHNIQUES?
USING AN EXISTING PHOTO OR VIDEO AND CLAIMING IT CAME FROM A DIFFERENT TIME OR
PLACE IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON FORMS OF MISINFORMATION IN THIS CONTEXT. THIS
REQUIRES NO SPECIAL SOFTWARE OR TECHNICAL SKILLS - JUST A WILLINGNESS TO UPLOAD
AN OLD VIDEO OF A MISSILE ATTACK OR OTHER ARRESTING IMAGE, AND DESCRIBE IT AS
NEW FOOTAGE.
ANOTHER LOW-TECH OPTION IS TO STAGE OR POSE ACTIONS OR EVENTS AND PRESENT THEM
AS REALITY. THIS WAS THE CASE WITH DESTROYED VEHICLES THAT RUSSIA CLAIMED WERE
BOMBED BY UKRAINE.
USING A PARTICULAR LENS OR VANTAGE POINT CAN ALSO CHANGE HOW THE SCENE LOOKS
AND CAN BE USED TO DECEIVE. A TIGHT SHOT OF PEOPLE, FOR EXAMPLE, CAN MAKE IT
HARD TO GAUGE HOW MANY WERE IN A CROWD, COMPARED WITH AN AERIAL SHOT.
TAKING THINGS FURTHER STILL, PHOTOSHOP OR EQUIVALENT SOFTWARE CAN BE USED TO
ADD OR REMOVE PEOPLE OR OBJECTS FROM A SCENE, OR TO CROP ELEMENTS OUT FROM A
PHOTOGRAPH. AN EXAMPLE OF OBJECT ADDITION IS THE BELOW PHOTOGRAPH, WHICH
PURPORTS TO SHOW CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY OUTSIDE A KINDERGARTEN IN EASTERN
UKRAINE. THE SATIRICAL TEXT ACCOMPANYING THE IMAGE JOKES ABOUT THE "CALIBRE OF
THE CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY" - THE AUTHOR SUGGESTING THAT REPORTS OF DAMAGE TO
BUILDINGS FROM MILITARY ORDINANCE ARE EXAGGERATED OR UNTRUE.
CLOSE INSPECTION REVEALS THIS IMAGE WAS DIGITALLY ALTERED TO INCLUDE THE
MACHINERY. THIS TWEET COULD BE SEEN AS AN ATTEMPT TO DOWNPLAY THE EXTENT OF
DAMAGE RESULTING FROM A RUSSIAN-BACKED MISSILE ATTACK, AND IN A WIDER CONTEXT
TO CREATE CONFUSION AND DOUBT AS TO VERACITY OF OTHER IMAGES EMERGING FROM THE
CONFLICT ZONE.
WHAT'S BEING DONE ABOUT IT?
EUROPEAN ORGANISATIONS SUCH AS BELLINGCAT HAVE BEGUN COMPILING LISTS OF DUBIOUS
SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIMS ABOUT THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT AND DEBUNKING THEM WHERE
NECESSARY.
JOURNALISTS AND FACT-CHECKERS ARE ALSO WORKING TO VERIFY CONTENT AND RAISE
AWARENESS OF KNOWN FAKES. LARGE, WELL-RESOURCED NEWS OUTLETS SUCH AS THE BBC
ARE ALSO CALLING OUT MISINFORMATION.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAVE ADDED NEW LABELS TO IDENTIFY STATE-RUN MEDIA
ORGANISATIONS OR PROVIDE MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT SOURCES OR PEOPLE IN
YOUR NETWORKS WHO HAVE ALSO SHARED A PARTICULAR STORY.
THEY HAVE ALSO TWEAKED THEIR ALGORITHMS TO CHANGE WHAT CONTENT IS AMPLIFIED AND
HAVE HIRED STAFF TO SPOT AND FLAG MISLEADING CONTENT. PLATFORMS ARE ALSO DOING
SOME WORK BEHIND THE SCENES TO DETECT AND PUBLICLY SHARE INFORMATION ON STATE-
LINKED INFORMATION OPERATIONS.
WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT?
YOU CAN ATTEMPT TO FACT-CHECK IMAGES FOR YOURSELF RATHER THAN TAKING THEM AT
FACE VALUE. AN ARTICLE WE WROTE LATE LAST YEAR FOR THE AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED
PRESS EXPLAINS THE FACT-CHECKING PROCESS AT EACH STAGE: IMAGE CREATION, EDITING
AND DISTRIBUTION.
HERE ARE FIVE SIMPLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:
1. EXAMINE THE METADATA
THIS TELEGRAM POST CLAIMS POLISH-SPEAKING SABOTEURS ATTACKED A SEWAGE FACILITY
IN AN ATTEMPT TO PLACE A TANK OF CHLORINE FOR A "FALSE FLAG" ATTACK.
BUT THE VIDEO'S METADATA - THE DETAILS ABOUT HOW AND WHEN THE VIDEO WAS CREATED
- SHOW IT WAS FILMED DAYS BEFORE THE ALLEGED DATE OF THE INCIDENT.
TO CHECK METADATA FOR YOURSELF, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FILE AND USE SOFTWARE SUCH
AS ADOBE PHOTOSHOP OR BRIDGE TO EXAMINE IT. ONLINE METADATA VIEWERS ALSO EXIST
THAT ALLOW YOU TO CHECK BY USING THE IMAGE'S WEB LINK.
ONE HURDLE TO THIS APPROACH IS THAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS SUCH AS FACEBOOK AND
TWITTER OFTEN STRIP THE METADATA FROM PHOTOS AND VIDEOS WHEN THEY ARE UPLOADED
TO THEIR SITES. IN THESE CASES, YOU CAN TRY REQUESTING THE ORIGINAL FILE OR
CONSULTING FACT-CHECKING WEBSITES TO SEE WHETHER THEY HAVE ALREADY VERIFIED OR
DEBUNKED THE FOOTAGE IN QUESTION.
2. CONSULT A FACT-CHECKING RESOURCE
ORGANISATIONS SUCH AS THE AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS, RMIT/ABC, AGENCE FRANCE-
PRESSE (AFP) AND BELLINGCAT MAINTAIN LISTS OF FACT-CHECKS THEIR TEAMS HAVE
PERFORMED.
THE AFP HAS ALREADY DEBUNKED A VIDEO CLAIMING TO SHOW AN EXPLOSION FROM THE
CURRENT CONFLICT IN UKRAINE AS BEING FROM THE 2020 PORT DISASTER IN BEIRUT.
3. SEARCH MORE BROADLY
IF OLD CONTENT HAS BEEN RECYCLED AND REPURPOSED, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FIND THE
SAME FOOTAGE USED ELSEWHERE. YOU CAN USE GOOGLE IMAGES OR TINEYE TO "REVERSE
IMAGE SEARCH" A PICTURE AND SEE WHERE ELSE IT APPEARS ONLINE.
BUT BE AWARE THAT SIMPLE EDITS SUCH AS REVERSING THE LEFT-RIGHT ORIENTATION OF
AN IMAGE CAN FOOL SEARCH ENGINES AND MAKE THEM THINK THE FLIPPED IMAGE IS NEW.
4. LOOK FOR INCONSISTENCIES
DOES THE PURPORTED TIME OF DAY MATCH THE DIRECTION OF LIGHT YOU WOULD EXPECT AT
THAT TIME, FOR EXAMPLE? DO WATCHES OR CLOCKS VISIBLE IN THE IMAGE CORRESPOND TO
THE ALLEGED TIMELINE CLAIMED?
YOU CAN ALSO COMPARE OTHER DATA POINTS, SUCH AS POLITICIANS' SCHEDULES OR
VERIFIED SIGHTINGS, GOOGLE EARTH VISION OR GOOGLE MAPS IMAGERY, TO TRY AND
TRIANGULATE CLAIMS AND SEE WHETHER THE DETAILS ARE CONSISTENT.
5. ASK YOURSELF SOME SIMPLE QUESTIONS
DO YOU KNOW WHERE, WHEN AND WHY THE PHOTO OR VIDEO WAS MADE? DO YOU KNOW WHO
MADE IT, AND WHETHER WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS THE ORIGINAL VERSION?
USING ONLINE TOOLS SUCH AS INVID OR FORENSICALLY CAN POTENTIALLY HELP ANSWER
SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS. OR YOU MIGHT LIKE TO REFER TO THIS LIST OF 20
QUESTIONS YOU CAN USE TO "INTERROGATE" SOCIAL MEDIA FOOTAGE WITH THE RIGHT
LEVEL OF HEALTHY SCEPTICISM.
ULTIMATELY, IF YOU'RE IN DOUBT, DON'T SHARE OR REPEAT CLAIMS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN
PUBLISHED BY A REPUTABLE SOURCE SUCH AS AN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ORGANISATION. AND
CONSIDER USING SOME OF THESE PRINCIPLES WHEN DECIDING WHICH SOURCES TO TRUST.
BY DOING THIS, YOU CAN HELP LIMIT THE INFLUENCE OF MISINFORMATION, AND HELP
CLARIFY THE TRUE SITUATION IN UKRAINE.
ARTICLE BY T.J. THOMSON, SENIOR LECTURER IN VISUAL COMMUNICATION & MEDIA,
QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY; DANIEL ANGUS, PROFESSOR OF DIGITAL
COMMUNICATION, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, AND PAULA DOOTSON, SENIOR
LECTURER, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
THIS ARTICLE IS REPUBLISHED FROM THE CONVERSATION UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS
LICENSE. READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE.
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