The internet has made it easier for everyone to get information at their fingertips. Infact it is everyone's source of information. With fake news and it disciples ruling over the media empire in the past few years. It has become a necessity to be more vigilant about how credible is the information we consume daily. How can we go about this?
The following list of tools can help in fact-checking media contents whether it is video, image or an article.
1. FindExif.com: With image manipulation, It is hard to tell if an image is edited (photoshop) or not. FindExif.com allows you to take the first step in trying to determine if the image you have is original or not. FindExif.com works with the Exit data, or metadata, of an image that's embedded inside the file. If the image is original you will see details about the model of the camera, the dimension among other information. Just input the image URL and you can extract the data to take closer look. You will get to see those details with other sources online to pin down when, where and in what context the photo image was taken.
2. InVID: Online videos are as editable and can be tampered as images are; This is why this tool makes the list. InVID is a chrome plugin that helps you to verify and debunk videos. It helps users to do their own basic video forensic investigation without having to invest a lot of time in acquiring major skills. With InVID, you can quickly get contextual information from Facebook and YouTube, perform reverse images, read video and image metadata and also check video copyrights.
3. Whois: when a domain is registered, registrars must provide registrants must provide registrars with up to date contact information. This information is publicly displayed in the Whois database. The Whois database makes it easy to find any website owner. This may be useful in finding the source link to a particular information. It provide answers to the important questions like; is the website registered, who is the domain owner, what contact information is available and when is the website registration expiration.
4. TinEye ( Reverse image Search): This tool is used to verify images. The tool a is dedicated reverse image search engine that can be used to see if the image you have has been taken from somewhere online. You can search by entering a URL, uploading your photo or by dragging and dropping your images into the browser while on the TinEye site. The tool comes with a common feature , which can be helpful to see how your images differs from the original, allowing you to see what's been cropped, taken out or edited.
5. Hoaxy: Hoaxy is an online tool that allows you to visualise the spread of claims and fact-checking. The tool was developed to study how information is diffused on social media. To start, just enter a search query on check any of the existing topics. (Trending news or popular claims) You will then get a good look at how the story has been spreading on social media from one person to another.
When all fails, it is advisable to talk to the source to provide his/ her reference. You can also conduct keyword search or look out for physical cues from the video/images ( Landmark, signboard, plate numbers, uniform, logos etc), check the comment sections or consult an independent fact checkers.
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