How to verify a news or social media photo

Why old photos resurface

During fast-moving events, people look for pictures that match what they are feeling, and old or unrelated images get shared with new captions. A photo of one event can be reposted as proof of another, often with no malicious intent. A quick check can stop you from spreading it further.

A simple checking routine

1. Save the image, or use the version closest to the original upload. Avoid screenshots that include comments and buttons.
2. Run it through all four engines with the Upload tab.
3. Look for the earliest appearance and compare its date and caption with the claim you are checking.
4. Open several results and see whether credible sources describe the picture the same way.
5. Search again with keywords from the claim to see what fact-checkers or news outlets have already said.

Look for clues inside the picture

Details in the image can support or contradict a caption:

• Signs, shop names, licence plates and languages that point to a different place.
• Weather, season, clothing and light that do not match the date or location claimed.
• Landmarks, road layouts and buildings you can compare with other photos of the place.
• Odd edges, repeated textures or strange proportions that may suggest editing.

Videos: search with still frames

Reverse image search works on pictures, not video, but you can pause a video at a clear frame, take a screenshot and crop it. Searching a few different frames can lead to the original footage or to earlier uploads of the same clip.

What the results can and cannot prove

Finding an older copy can show that a picture is not from the event it is claimed to show. But finding no copies does not prove an image is new or real, and a match does not prove the older caption was right either. Edited and AI-generated images can fool matching in both directions. Treat the search as one piece of evidence and check what reliable outlets and fact-checking organisations say.

Share carefully

If you cannot confirm a picture, do not share it as fact. If you must mention it, say clearly that you could not verify it. When you find that a photo is old or misplaced, saying so politely, with a link to the earlier source, helps others more than a simple accusation.