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WHEN A MAJOR event or moment happens, it’s quickly followed by a massive influx of posts, images and videos detailing it. As this increases, so too does the rate in which pranksters put together hoax or old images in an attempt to fool people.
Fake images tend to be old photos reposted with a new context, two or more images combined together via photoshop, or old photoshopped images being recycled and used again. Some are spotted straight away while others tend to slip through the net as information flows in faster.
Context is the main reason something gets shared. When it framed correctly, it can convince many people that it’s legitimate despite evidence suggesting it’s not.
A perfect example of this happened on New Year’s Day. Chances are you saw this image of Europe said to be taken at midnight on New Year’s Day being shared online. It’s a nice image, but as you probably guessed by the heading of this piece, it’s not real, and it’s not new either since it appeared last year and the year before.
(Image: Imgur)
Factors such as the entirety of Europe being cloudless, Ireland being completely covered in light, despite it being a sparsely populated country, and the fact that Europe spans across four different timezones – meaning that not all countries would be celebrating it at the same time – meant that those who questioned it would realise it’s fake, but the image was retweeted thousands of times meaning that many people were fooled.
Old images being passed off as current isn’t new, but there are a number of things you can do to determine what you’re seeing is real or not. The easiest way to check is to perform a reverse image search through Google Images. Go into images.google.com and drag any image over the search bar.
If you did it with the image above, you would get the following results. Note the dates of each result.
This isn’t a foolproof method, but it’s usually the first step to figuring out whether a picture has been modified or not. If it has, then there’s a decent chance you will find the original in the results.
If the image doesn’t have any history, then it’s important to look at who is sharing the photo, what context is provided, and whether there are any other sources to back up the image (the same scene taken from a different angle, for example). If it’s a retweet or shared from another account, then you need to go back to the original poster before doing this.
Inspecting the image
If that doesn’t help clear things up, the next step is to inspect the image itself. If you don’t have access to an image editor, there are two other ways you can spot a fake. The first is use an online product like Fotoforensics or Image Edited? to help out. However, while they’re useful, it’s worth noting that their ability to spot photoshopped images can be hit and miss so don’t rely on them completely.
The second is to inspect the image closely and look for clues. Photoshopping normally requires extra layers to be placed on top of the image, and doing that while making everything look seamless takes work.
The best way to spot it is, again, by looking at the lighting of each object as well their edges. If there are two similar objects and there are inconsistencies, then it’s very likely that it’s fake.
If you have access to Photoshop or any image editing app, then loading it up and switching between different coloured layers (done by going into channels) or boosting the photo’s saturation can help. Doing either of these will show that the lighting will differ in places, which is usually a clear giveaway.
This only scratches the surface of whether an image is real or not, but the best tool you can rely on is your own judgement. Like all things, if something seems too amazing to be true, chances are it probably is.
(For those curious, the image of Europe above is taken from Science Photo, and shows the change in illumination at night from 1993 to 2003.)
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Testing tracing and tracking, a sure fire way of staying on top of and maintaining control of the virus and the very minute the numbers begin to surge it starts to crumble, it’s been a half hearted effort from the get go, appalling…
@Kate Flaherty: absolutely. Proven method too.
@Kate Flaherty: one word that constantly springs to mind when you think of the HSE is failure.
@Kate Flaherty: not defining them.. but the numbers turn out to be huge… 9thousand cases at peak represent 50k tests a day.
@Rob Buggle: defending….
@Kate Flaherty: Absolutely. Bit I think the issue is broader. Leadership generally in this country over the last 6 months has been pitifully weak. When COVID is finished we need to have a look at our system which allows the Taoiseach to come from a party with absolutely no mandate to lead. A weak character in a very weak position. What do people expect?
@Kate Flaherty: Worldwide issue. How many contact tracers should we have had working immediately after Christmas, keeping in mind that daily cases were in the thousands and many positive cases were reporting up to 40 contacts. Tracing these contacts would have been an enormous task and testing them all would have been physically impossible. Would have led to a massive backlog in tracing, testing and in the labs. But we should have put Kate Flaherty in charge coz…expert.
@Vonvonic: agree or disagree with their policies… I don’t really care, but to suggest he has no mandate is very trumpian.. he reprsents a government with over 50% first preference votes in last election. I don’t like it, but its true.
@Tommy Roche: I’m no expert Tommy, and neither do I claim to be but a fool could see this has all been mismanaged from the get go or do you forget Leo dithering about the place a week before the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade trying to decide whether or not it should go ahead, he’s a physician and there was a novel virus coming our way, they have been reactive from day one and have not been in any way shape or form have then been proactive in any area affected by this pandemic, unless weak and uninspiring…
@Rob Buggle: Trumpian? Lol. You don’t do irony obviously Rob.
@Kate Flaherty: useless not unless…
@Kate Flaherty: You’re 100% on the money.
@Vonvonic: you don’t do proportional representation obviously Von
@Rob Buggle: I definitely don’t do duplicity. “I’m not defending them. I’m just giving you their point of view in a positive light.” You’re fooling noone.
@Rob Buggle: What part of “we need to have a look at our system …” do you want me to explain for you?
So the numbers we are getting at the moment are really only a part of the story!
@MrHammey12: the are using the method they used last March
@MrHammey12: yes
I don’t know is there much point in the testing of close contacts. After all, even if you test negative, you still need to restrict your movements for 14 days. Also, seeing as they do not differentiate between those who carry the virus, SARS-COV-2, and those that develop symptoms of the disease, CoViD-19, I think it is skewing people’s perception of how dangerous the disease can be, as everybody seems to be classing it as CoViD-19, with symptomatic and asymptomatic cases.
@Joe_X: testing of close contacts is important because they find people who are positive BEFORE they have much opportunity to spread the virus.
@Lorraine Mac Rory: What you say is correct, and believe me, when they first started testing close contacts I was in full agreement of it. However, regardless of the close contact’s result, they are still meant to isolate/restrict movements anyway, from the time you have been contacted by the HSE, which stops them spreading the virus. So why not keep the testing for symptomatic cases of CoViD-19, keep the close contacts restriction of movements in place, and possibly we may see a more accurate indication of who is at most risk of CoViD-19. Possibly then report on so many cases of the disease proper, with X amount more cases isolating due to being close contacts.
@Joe_X: you teat the close contacts because if they have the virus then they too have a set of close contacts that need to be tested & isolate If you don’t test the close contacts then this second set may be infected and go spreading it about
@Paddy Cullen AIWS: actually Paddy, that thought never crossed my mind. I had only thought of the primary person and their contacts. I still think they should differentiate between symptomatic sufferers of CoViD-19 and assymptomatic carriers of SARS-COV-2, and not blanket it all as CoViD-19.
Why are they not using oximeters at the time of testing. Immediately the can tell if blood oxygen is compromised and if patient needs to be hospitalised. Early detection means shorter hospital stay. This is being done in NYC. Check out Amanpour show on CNN. Dr Richard Levitan. God can the HSE ever keep up?
@Ted Murphy: there are loads of reasons a person’s O2 saturations might be abnormal that have nothing to do with covid19. We’d end up admitting patients that don’t need to be, and exposing them to covid19 patients in hospitals. A patient may also be on the verge of deteriorating but with normal saturations. A snapshot of O2 saturations is fairly useless on its own, the equipment costs money, that equipment is already needed in hospitals, and there is a (probably very small) possibility of transmitting the virus from one patient to the next via equipment contamination. Also we don’t have any particularly effective treatments, so early detection does not equal shorter stay. It probably means longer stay, as they would be admitted earlier than they may have been otherwise.
@Ted Murphy: I got a pulse oximeter through my pharmacist as we have high risks in the family due to asthma. You can get them online too. Covid-19 in the lungs eats away at the part that takes in O2 first, and then goes to the part that expels CO2. Rising C02 is what causes gasping and shortness of breath. So you can feel fine because CO2 is still getting expelled when your ability to take in O2 goes down. This is called silent hypoxia. By the time 02 rates have plummeted you are in trouble. This progression is unique to Covid-19 and is why people don’t realise they are sick until it’s really bad. Pulse oximeters can help monitor things better and they are cheap: https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-testing-pneumonia.amp.html
Did everyone not realise something was amiss when Ireland’s numbers went from a few thousand a day to 1,500 in a couple of weeks. Said it from the start regardless of the reason we are cooking the books. Like we did in March when we cancelled 50 odd thousand tests after people waiting 10 days and this no longer needed testing
All it needs are the usual numpties to start blithering on about how well we are doing compared to the rest of Europe to really complete the circle.
Did a trip around 5 testing facilities yesterday absolutely none of them where super busy, literally none. What in the name of… is going on? I’ve been in 3 different countries since this all began last January and I have to say Ireland’s response to this is absolutely shambolic. From testing to hospital beds etc everything is amateur in this country, I’m not talking about the frontline staff but nphet and government aided and abetted by media hysteria and an absolutely gullible and scared public.. sick
0.06% of the population of Ireland died “with” vivid since this all began, yet the country is on its knees??
iMask Protocol with Ivermectin..
It obliterates covid… Please check out the FLCCC ALLIANCE
Ivermectin has been known for its anti viral properties for decades especially around sars, if you take this protocol you will not get sick..
The HSE need to move on this NOW
Ivermectin is readily and easily available alongside the other parts of the protocol which include high doses of vit c, vit d3, zinc..etc
The Ivermectin patent ran out in the 90′s… So vaccine vaccine vaccine $$$ the world is run by sick people who at the end of the day only care about profit.. take your health into your own hands with a doctor that is not compromised by pharma..
Doctor Pierre Kory a front line critical care doctor in the states said..” if you take this protocol, you will not get sick, it obliterates covid”
have your say