Free verification resource
Media verification checklist
Use this repeatable routine before sharing or relying on a suspicious image or video. A detector score alone cannot establish authenticity or prove that a caption is true.
Updated September 19, 2026
1. Define the claim
Write down exactly what the image or video is said to show, its claimed date and place, the source, and the link to the post. Separate the media itself from the claim attached to it.
2. Preserve the source
Keep an unchanged copy of the received file. Ask for the original rather than making another screenshot. Record whether it is an original, screenshot, crop, edited copy or forwarded file, plus its filename, dimensions and documented origin.
3. Check context
Search for earlier appearances with a reverse-image search tool. Record matching pages and dates, but remember that the earliest result you find is not automatically the original. Look for the same image paired with a different caption and note contradictions.
4. Check provenance separately
Inspect original-file metadata and Content Credentials when available. Record who signed a credential and what creation or edit history it describes. Missing metadata does not prove AI generation, and metadata alone does not validate every claim.
5. Review visible evidence
Examine text, object boundaries, lighting, reflections and background details. For video, inspect the original sequence and audio as well as sampled frames. Record exact regions or timestamps, and consider ordinary explanations such as compression, filters, scene cuts and conventional edits.
6. Record any automated check
Note the tool, reported model or version, date, settings, file version checked, result, confidence, signals and any fallback or error notice. Do not interpret confidence as a measured accuracy rate. If tools disagree, collect more evidence rather than treating the highest score as decisive.
7. Decide what the evidence supports
Mark whether the specific claim has independent support, whether evidence contradicts it, or whether it remains unverified. State what is still unknown and identify the next verification step before publishing or making a consequential decision.