This document provides guidance on verifying sources and content found on social media. It recommends developing human sources, consulting multiple credible sources, and being skeptical of information that seems too good to be true. It also suggests verifying the source and content separately. When verifying the source, it advises evaluating the social media account, checking outside of social media, and contacting the source to obtain additional confirmation from other people or information. When verifying content, it recommends reviewing the uploader's history and location, searching for prior instances of the content, examining metadata and geolocation, and checking details in the content.

1. Week 3: Verifying Sources and
Content Found on Social Media

2. Principles of Verification
•Develop human sources — and talk to them
•Consult multiple, credible sources. “How do you
know that?”
•Be skeptical: Is something too good to be true?
•Verify the source and the content.
•Assume images, video has been scraped/reposted.
•Communicate and collaborate
•Breaking news breeds chaos. Restraint is key

3. Verifying the source

4. Evaluate the Account & Person
• Is the account verified?
• On Twitter, check when account was created
– Be suspicious of brand-new accounts
• Analyze their network
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Friends, followers, conversations, retweets
What do they usually tweet/post about?
Where do they say they are?
How does it compare?
• Evaluate posts before and after

5. Check Outside Social Media
•Google the handle/name with “spam, scam,
spammer,” etc. to see if others have complained

6. Check Outside Social Media
•See if you can find other accounts online with the
info you have.
•Search the username
•If you find a real name, use people search tools
(who.is , Spokeo, White Pages, Pipl.com, WebMii)
to find the person’s address, email and telephone
number.
– Check other social networks, such as LinkedIn, to
find out about the person’s professional
background.

7. Contact, Check Other Sources
•DM them, get on the phone, Skype
•Get details and additional corroboration from
people, images, etc.
•Are others reporting this incident or event?
•If so, what sourcing are they using?

9. Verifying the content

13. Verifying Photos & Video
•Review the uploader’s history/location
– See if he/she has shared credible content in the past or
may be scraping from others
•Are there images before and after you can
compare to?
•Get the uploader on the phone or Skype to talk
about the image
•Beware of the amazing shot in a breaking news
situation

14. Verifying Photos & Video
•Confirm the provenance: Using video and
image search (YouTube, Google Images, TinEye
etc.), see if any earlier pieces of content from
the same event pre-date your example.
(YouTube date stamps using PST.)
•Check exif info: regex.info/exif.cgi
•Reference locations against Google Maps,
Wikimapia and existing images from the area.

15. Verifying Photos & Video
• Check
– Clothes, buildings, language, license plates,
vehicles, etc.
– Do they support the image?
•Examine weather reports, shadows to confirm
conditions shown fit date and time.
•Compare landmarks, buildings to Google Maps,
satellite images.

16. The Debunker Toolkit
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Snopes.com
Google Image Search/TinEye.com.
Google Maps/WikiMapia.
WolframAlpha
Whois search
EXIF reader
Whendidyoujointwitter.com
Archive.org/web/web.php

17. Remember
•Big news brings out the fakers — and confusion
for all
•Check the source and the content
•Investigate the network, the history of a SM
account
•Use human sources, always seek contact
•Use tools, but not only tools
•Don’t rush to be wrong. Value restraint