Verification 101 with Storyful

@ainekerr @mjenkins

Pioneering social verification for news!

Discover Verify Acquire

Journalists use 12-step process to verify the

asset, the uploader and authenticity of the

content

Technology filters the social web to uncover

the most impactful stories

clearing all rights and permissions

for using on brand and publisher channels

The importance of verification!SOURCE

NEWS

RESULT

Verification: The Checklist

The Source

Time and Date

Location

Verification: The Source

•  Does their account look real? •  What is their connection to the story? •  How often do they post? •  Where do they post from? •  When was the account created? •  What is their upload history? •  What can we find out on Spokeo/

Accurint/etc.? •  Have you searched their username? •  Can you find other linked accounts? •  Have you searched the unique Video

ID on Twitter/FB etc.?

SOURCE

•  Spokeo.com •  Whitepages.com •  Pipl.com •  123people.com •  Webmii.com •  Topsy.com •  Snapbird •  Who.is

Verification: The Location

•  What is the source’s connection? •  Has it been automatically geo-

located? •  Can we geo-locate images against

Google Earth/Google Maps? •  Do registration plates, signs,

storefronts, etc. indicate country or state?

•  Do accents or dialects indicate location?

LOCATION

•  GeoSocialFootprint.com •  YouGetSignal.com •  Google Earth •  Wikimapia

Verifica8on: The Date

•  What is the actual time of upload, bearing in mind timestamp ‘rules’ are different on all the platforms?

•  Does the information corroborate against other reports or sources?

•  Are there shadows that tally with the time of day?

•  Do weather reports corroborate with the date of the video or picture?

•  If you are looking at a photo, can you check the EXIF data?

DATE

•  Wolfram Alpha •  Topsy.com •  Snapbird.org

Checklist: Ensuring You Find Your Eyewitness !

Date: Timestamp, Other corroborating uploads and sources/reports, EXIF data. Source: Account history, Linked websites, Linked social profiles, Account profile pic reverse image searches. Location: Geo data, Google Satellite imagery, Google maps, Weather reports via Wolfram Alpha.

Verification – Key Principles

Find Corroborating Content Conduct Digital Footprint Analysis Undertake Frame by Frame Analysis

Best Practices: Check EXIF Data

Best Practices: Check for Scrapes

Example: Hurricane Sandy Images, 2012

EXIF data showed this image was from an Epson scanner, the image was determined to be from an old print.

Best Practices: Reverse Image Searching

Google Reverse Image Search at images.google.com

Tineye.com

Case Study #1: “Looting” in Baltimore, 2015

Case Study #1: “Looting” in Baltimore, 2015

Case Study #2: TransAsia Airways Crash, Taiwan







Case Study #3: Social backgrounding Dylann Roof

•  Storyful.com •  Verificationjunkie.com •  The Verification Handbook at

verificationhandbook.com •  Emergent.Info •  EyewitnessMediaHub.com •  First Draft Coalition •  Facebook.com/FBNewswire •  YouTube.com/newswire

Verification Resources hecklist: Ensuring You Find Your Eyewitness !

@ainekerr [email protected]

[email protected] [email protected]

Get these slides at bit.ly/storyfulnx15

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Verification 101 with Storyful