Category Archives: Fake News

You can make sure you aren't seeing fake news, edited photos or deepfakes with this software. Here's how to install and use it.

Image: Lightspring/Shutterstock

The evolution of social media and the internet have allowed people and companies to share a lot of content, some of which might be used to spread fake news or misinformation. One of the keys to investigate this material is to try to find evidence of the same image/video being used before, often in an unrelated context. This article shows how to easily check for it by using the InVID Verification Plugin.

While the plugin is originally designed to help journalists verify content on social media and improve fact-checking and debunking capabilities for its users, it can also be used by anyone with an interest in checking images or videos. More and more companies have social media experts on staff who need tools to spot fake news and detect fake media that might target them. The tool might also be used to raise awareness or train people to increase their skills in detecting media tampering.

The InVID Verification Plugin, or Toolkit, is provided by the InVID and WeVerify European projects. Both projects have received funding from theHorizon 2020: EU Programme for Research and Innovation.

The features of this plugin are:

This tool works as a Chrome or Firefox browser plugin. From the home page of the InVID Verification Plugin, select Chrome or Firefox. We chose Firefox for this tutorial (Figure A), but the install steps are the same for Chrome.

Figure A

Download the plugin.

Once the plugin is downloaded, go to the folder where it was saved and extract the .zip file (Figure B), then unzip it.

Figure B

The plugin is extracted from the .zip file.

Double-click on the .xpi file to launch it in Firefox or Chrome. Depending on what your default browser is, you might need to right-click on the .xpi file and select Open With, then choose Firefox or Chrome.

As it opens in the browser, select Add to allow the permissions to install the plugin (Figure C).

Figure C

Allow the installation and permissions for the InVID Verification Plugin in Firefox.

Tick the box for allowing the plugin to run in Private Windows if you like, then click Okay (Figure D).

Figure D

Select the permissions to run in Private Windows or not.

The plugin is now installed and should show its logo in the plugins bar.

The plugin can be accessed and used via two methods.

A click on the plugin icon in the browser opens its menu (Figure E).

Figure E

Access the InVID toolkit menu from its icon in Firefox.

The other option is to right-click on a picture or video from the web page (Figure F).

Figure F

You can access the plugin by right-clicking on an image on a web page.

Once right-clicked, the menu shows different options from the plugin, like opening the magnifier or doing reverse searches on images in search engines.

By clicking on the plugin icon in the browser and selecting Open InVID, the main menu of the plugin appears (Figure G).

Figure G

Access the plugin's main menu.

On the upper part of the menu, several options are available:

The image magnifier allows an investigator to zoom in on a picture to see more details about it (Figure H).

Figure H

This is how the image magnifier looks when in use.

This option shows the metadata of a picture (Figure I).

Figure I

The metadata from one picture.

Video Rights shows the usage rights for videos from YouTube, Twitter or Facebook (Figure J).

Figure J

The video rights for one video on YouTube.

This feature allows users to launch advanced queries on Twitter (Figure K).

Figure K

The Twitter advanced search panel.

This feature runs reverse searches on the thumbnails of a YouTube video. The searches can be run on several search engines (Figure L).

Figure L

The YouTube thumbnails reverse search.

This option fragments the video into multiple images (Figure M) and allows the investigator to run a reverse image search on any of it. This is a useful feature to detect if parts of a video have been reused from another source.

Figure M

The software splits a video into multiple images so you can run a reverse image search on any of it.

This tab provides statistics about videos from YouTube, Twitter or Facebook (Figure N).

Figure N

Video statistics from a YouTube video.

This tab provides eight different filters to help detect digital image tampering (Figure O).

Figure O

Forensic analysis on an image.

InVID can launch reverse image searches on several search engines: Google, Yandex, Bing, TinEye, Baidu and Reddit.

The easiest way to launch this is to right-click on a picture and select the desired search engine or select all. The plugin opens one tab per search engine in the browser to show the results (Figure P).

Figure P

The results of a reverse image search on the TinEye search engine.

The InVID Toolkit allows any investigator or social media expert to verify contents by analyzing images and videos on several different platforms or even on local files. Being a plugin for Firefox or Chrome, it can be used on several different operating systems, like Windows, Linux or Mac.

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How to install and use InVID, a plugin to debunk fake news and verify videos and images - TechRepublic

Looks like Nicki Minaj is going through a lot these past days! Is the pop star telling people not to get vaccinated? Not only that, but is she really trying to save her rapist husband? Well, to know it all, stay tuned with us!

Currently, Nicki Minaj is high on the news! But instead of stardom, she is receiving heavy hatred from her fans! A few days back, one of her tweet went viral, and she damn regrets posting it on social media! The tweet was related to the COVID-19 vaccine! The pop star claimed that one of her cousin who lives in Trinidad has refused to take the covid vaccine shot. Well, it looks like Nickis cousins friend had a serious side effect after the vaccine shot which has scared him from taking the vaccine! The singer obviously had to face a lot of hatred due to this tweet! Most people said she is just trying to gain attention and moreover, is spreading fake news among the people out there!

Her opinion on the vaccine is surely an anti-vax statement. But does she really support anti-vax? Well, in one of Nickis recent interviews with Andy Cohen, she was seen to maintain all the COVID-19 protocols! This surely kind of proves she is not supporting anti-vax! The inner information is an assured statement as this came exclusively from the very famous Andy Cohen!

Well, for some months, we all are quite aware that Nicki Minajs husband has been charged for sexually assaulting Jennifer Hough. This is incident goes back to 1995. But recently, Jennifer has filed a case against Kenneth Petty. Nicki and her husband both have failed to respond to the lawsuit! Not only that but Kenneth has clearly denied the charge put on him! When the incident took place, both the culprit and the victim were 16 years old! If you dont know it, then let me tell you, Petty has also served a period of 4 years in jail for his deed.

The shocking news is Petty now claims that the rape never had occurred! In fact the sex between him and Jennifer was more consensual! He has moreover, said that 26 years back, he was a young boy, and out of fear, he took the rape allegation on himself! That time he was said that it doesnt accept the rape claim, then he time be in jail for a 20 year long sentence period!

But Jennifer is clearly stating something opposite to Pettys story! She has cleared said that she was raped by him at knifepoint. All these years, she has been traumatized and is still in constant fear to face the world out there. Well, already $15 million charge by Jennifer has been dismissed by the court. But still, $20 million lawsuit stands! If we come to Nicki, then she has stated that they have by mistake not responded to the lawsuit! So is the sensational pop star really saving her husband?

Go here to read the rest:

Nicki Minaj Spreading Anti Vax FAKE NEWS and Covid-19 Controversies to Save Her RAPIST Husband From Scrutiny - Dominique Clare

Although a wide variety of information and news are available at our fingertips these days, it also makes us susceptible to believe in fake content. And business tycoon Anand Mahindra has tried to deal with all such stress with a dash of humour, and the internet is loving.

As the internet is full of quotes post, The Mahindra Group Chairman debunked one such quote shared on Instagram with his photo and name. An average Indian man spends his day following women on social media, putting his hopes into sports teams and leaving his dreams in the hand of a politician that doesnt care, the post read falsely attributing it to him.

Taking to Twitter, the industrialist not only threatened to take legal action for the fabricated quot but also promised to deal with such situation, bringing his A-game by sharing relatable memes. He shared two one featuring himself and other with Arshad Warsi.

This is the second time this week, fake information about him have been circulating online. On Friday, Mahindra had rubbished a report which talked about how his new investment made him richer this year and that hes sharing his secret with everybody. He expressed shock regarding a piece of fake news about his investment in cryptocurrency.

As he dealt with such fake news, people appreciated his sense of humour, with many joining him in the meme-fest to keep his sprits up while thanking him to clarifying.

However, this is not the first time this has been done. Earlier in September Ratan Tata too voiced his concern on seeing a falsely attributed quote doing rounds on social media, clarifying it wasnt said by him.

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I never said that: Anand Mahindra debunks fake quote with memes, netizens love it - The Indian Express

Image Source : FILE IMAGE

Aamir Khan to tie the knot third time?

Months after Aamir Khan announced his divorce from Kiran Rao, rumours have started doing the round that the Bollywood actor is gearing up to tie the knot, again. A few days back, there were reports doing the rounds on social media that Aamir will announce his wedding after the release of his upcoming film Laal Singh Chadha, co-starring Kareena Kapoor. However, according to the latest reports, Aamir's third wedding rumours are fake.

According to India Today, there is no truth to the news of Aamirs third marriage and all such reports are fake. It further clarified that he doesnt want to interfere with the Laal Singh Chadha's limelight and nothing like this is happening.Laal Singh Chaddha: Aamir Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer release pushed to April 2022

After Aamir and Kiran's divorce, people had come up with the theory that the actors alleged relationship with his Dangal co-star Fatima Sana Shaikh was the reason for their separation. Addressing their dating rumours, she had said in an interview, "A bunch of strangers, whom I've never met, are writing things about me. They don't even know if there's any truth to it. People reading it assume that I'm 'not a good person'. You feel like telling that person, 'Ask me, I'll give you an answer. It disturbs me because I don't want people to assume wrong things."

Meanwhile, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao announced divorce after 15 years of their marriage. The duo has son Azad together. In a joint statement, Aamir and Kiran described their 15 years of togetherness as 'beautiful' during which they shared a 'lifetime of experiences, joy and laughter'. The actor added that although their relationship changed, but they are still with each other.Aamir Khan-Kiran Rao address fans after divorce announcement

Aamir Khan and Kiran tied the knot in 2015. Kiran was an assistant director to Ashutosh Gowariker on the set of Lagaan. They welcomed their son Azad Rao Khan in 2011 via surrogacy.

Read the rest here:

Aamir Khan to tie the knot third time? 'FAKE' news going viral - India TV

On Monday 22 November at 3pm Maverick Citizen editor, Mark Heywood will be participating in a discussion hosted by the Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation titled The Power of Law: How can NGOs Promote Access to (Covid-19 or other essential) medicines through Legal Procedures? Lessons Learned from Past Cases.

You can register to join the event here.

On Tuesday 23 November at 9am the Peoples Vaccine Alliance is hosting a global rally against the World Trade Organization (WTO) titled Dont Trade with our lives, the aim of which is to demand that the WTO pass the critical Trips waiver on life-saving vaccines and medicines. The organisation seeks to amplify the voices of communities in Colombia, Palestine, South Africa, India, Thailand, Honduras, Kenya, Pakistan, Uganda, Mexico, and elsewhere who have been most affected by the inequalities that have allegedly been exacerbated by the WTO. Legal experts, human rights activists, and public health advocates also will lay out various advocacy actions undertaken by several international coalitions.

You can join the event here.

At 10am, Health activists from Cancer Alliance, the Treatment Action Campaign and SECTION27 will march to Premier David Makhuras offices in Johannesburg on 23 November 2021 to demand that he urgently establish a task team to address the cancer crisis in Gauteng, where waiting lists for time-sensitive and potentially life-saving cancer treatment extend for years.

On Wednesday 24 November at 1pm, Civic and Open data organisation Code for Africa, will be hosting a discussion titled Fighting Fake news: Combating mis / disinformation in Africa. You can register to attend the event here.

At 1.30pm the World Health Organization is launching a report titled The politics of a WHO pandemic treaty in a disenchanted world. The report addresses the need for new approaches to the challenge of a pandemic future, in the wake of the harsh but real lessons that Covid-19 continues to administer. You can register to attend the report launch here.

At 2pm the The Applied Constitutional Study Laboratory (ACSL) at the Dullah Omar Institute will be hosting a discussion on Next Generation Constitutionalism titled Climate Change Litigation global trends. The discussant will be Joana Setzer from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, who is one of the authors of the Climate Change Litigation report, about the strategic nature of this litigation, current trends in litigation and future developments to watch, the types of legal challenges that are being brought and where they are being fought. You can register to attend the discussion here.

Lastly on Wednesday at 5.30pm, the Soul City Institute for Social Justice will be holding a 16 Days of Activism event titled Kgalemelang From Awareness to Accountability. The event is to move people from just being aware of gender-based violence towards personal accountability and the justice system, civil society and general society. For more information on how to participate contact [emailprotected]. DM/MC

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Civil Society Watch 22 November 28 November: The availability of essential medication in SA, tackling the WTO on Trips waiver and fighting fake news...

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has slammed the Times of India for publishing fake news that claimed that the Assam government is ready to hold talks with Ulfa (I) terrorists and discuss their core issues including demand for sovereignty.

Sarma shared the photograph of a news report published in the Times of India, saying that he is aghast to see such claims attributed to him.

No Chief Minister can discuss sovereignty of India with anyone. This is non-negotiable. We all Indians, irrespective of our positions, are here to protect the sovereignty of India. I strongly refute the news report. This is FALSE, Sarma tweeted on Thursday, 18 November.

The report in Times of India claimed that Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated on Wednesday that Ulfa (I)s core demand of sovereignty has to be addressed along the way.

The report further went on to add that since the inception of undivided Ulfa in 1979, no CM had ever come close to acknowledging the core demand of sovereignty for a dialogue. It added that former PM Manmohan Singh had once stated that the centre was ready to discuss core issues.

The report further stated that soon after taking office, CM Sarma had stated that dealing with Ulfa needed a fresh approach and had added that an equilibrium has to be created between the perimeters of the constitution and the outfits demand for sovereignty and their core issues will have to be discussed at some point of time.

In September, Sarma had stated that he had spoken with HM Amit Shah and had obtained permission to speak to Ulfa chief Paresh Barua to initiate a peace dialogue. He had clarified further that it was at initial levels and no conclusions should be drawn from it. He had also added that the Home Ministry has told him that any communication with Ulfa has to be a structured dialogue.

It is notable here that the peace process with several insurgent groups has been negotiated successfully in Assam in the last couple of years. In January 2020, Home Minister Amit Shah had secured a peace agreement with Bodo groups. Subsequently, over 1600 cadres from all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) had surrendered their weapons and were welcomed back into the society in a historic event.

In September this year, six insurgent groups had signed the Karbi Peace Accord with the centre, bringing an end to decades of violence and unrest in the Karbi-Anglong region.

Read more:

Assam CM Sarma slams Times Of Indias fake news regarding talks with Ulfa, says India sovereignty is non-negotiable - OpIndia

Former national co-convener of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell Vinit Goenka, advocates Vinit Jindal, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and others had filed petitions in the apex court on the issue.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear pleas today seeking directions to the government to bring in legislation enabling the prosecution of Twitter for alleged anti-India tweets. One of the pleas has sought the framing of a mechanism that could check advertisements and paid content on Twitter that may be hateful or seditious and to rein in social media accounts "in order to stop the hatred, fake, investigative and other news which are contrary to the law of the country or violates the law of the country".

Former national co-convener of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell Vinit Goenka, advocates Vinit Jindal, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay and others had filed petitions in the apex court on the issue. The court issued a notice to the Central government in February and tagged Goenkas plea along with another similar matter pending before the top court. A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar will hear pleas today.

In his plea, Goenka alleged that the social media company is sympathetic to terrorist groups and promotes tweets that are anti-India and amount to waging war against the Union. The plea claimed that fake Twitter handles are used to"propagate casteism, communalism, regionalism, linguism, radicalism, and separatism, which endanger fraternity, unity and regional integration."

It also mentioned Twitters refusal to block Twitter handles allegedly involved in promoting fake and provocative content. The petition stated that social media platforms, in the absence of any law to deal with offensive and hatred messages, "knowingly promote messages which are against the law of the land.

Advocate Vinit Jindal had sought directions for the central government to formulate laws that regulate and enforce accountability on social media platforms for spreading hate speech and fake news. He also sought directions to frame criminal prosecutions on those who are involved in spreading fake news or hate via social media channels.

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SC to hear pleas accusing Twitter of promoting fake news, anti-India content - Hindustan Times

News & Politics

(PAP) jch/md November 17, 2021

Poland's prime minister has said fake news is a part of the hybrid warfare being conducted by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.

Writing on Twitter on Wednesday Mateusz Morawiecki also said that the situation on the Polish-Belarusian was undergoing dynamic changes.

He emphasised that "only verified sources of information should trusted," such as the granica.gov.pl website, and that people should watch out for "fake news" spread by the Lukashenko government.

"Let us not be divided and let us support the services who, on a daily basis, are defending the integrity of the Polish and EU border," he added.

Poland's eastern border with Belarus has been the site of recent clashes, with Polish law enforcement officers and troops being attacked with rocks and other missiles thrown by groups of migrants on the other side of the border fence.

Warsaw accuses Minsk of orchestrating the border crisis in retaliation for sanctions imposed by Brussels.

Excerpt from:

Beware of fake news concerning border situation says PM - The First News

KUALA LUMPUR: Fake news of "killer worms" in bananas has travelled across several continents and caused a stir, especially among chat groups and social media accounts of Malaysian Internet users.

A one-minute 29-second video has been circulating, claiming that bananas in Malaysia contain helicobacter, a microaerophilic, spiral bacterium usually found in the stomach.

It claims that the worms will cause "brain death" within 12 hours of consuming them.

The video shows a person breaking a banana open and using a pair of tweezers to pull out a worm coiled within the fruit.

Malaysia is not the first country to experience the spread of this fake news as the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) in South Africa also rubbished similar claims.

Fake news of imported bananas from Somalia containing the worms were spread in the nation.

The department, in a statement on Nov 8 said that all imported bananas were carefully examined by inspectors at ports of entry to ensure there were no quarantine pests, food-borne diseases or any other harmful foreign material that could negatively affect the agricultural environment, industry and consumers, in particular.

A similar video using the same footage went viral in the United Arab Emirates and the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority also debunked the video.

It was previously reported that the Agriculture Department had not received any reports of helicobacter "worms" attacking banana crops in Malaysia, said its director-general Datuk Zahimi Hassan.

He was quoted as saying the viral video on the alleged discovery of helicobacter worms in bananas contained unauthentic and dubious information.

Zahimi explained that helicobacter is a type of bacteria and not an invertebrate animal.

"Consumers do not have to worry as the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry, through the Agriculture Department, always ensures that agriculture produce and products from the local or foreign sources are safe for consumption and free from pests and diseases that harm consumers and the environment," he said in a statement.

The rest is here:

Fake news of 'killer worms' in bananas travels across continents to Malaysia - The Star Online

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The left and the media did everything in their power to ensure Kyle Rittenhouse didnt get a fair trial from President Joe Biden on down. Thankfully, they failed and he was found not guilty on all charges.

But last year, following a debate with President Donald Trump, Biden tweeted out at an attack on Rittenhouse. "Theres no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night," he wrote. That tweet was coupled with a photo of Rittenhouse.

KYLE RITTENHOUSE FOUND NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS IN KENOSHA TRIAL

Celebrities were desperate to see Rittenhouse convicted. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who has cried over basketball more than a gambler who bet on the Washington Generals, bashed Rittenhouse for phony tears. "What tears?????," he tweeted. "I didnt see one," James continued. "Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court."

Author Stephen King described Rittenhouse as looking "eerily like Eric Harris, one of the Columbine shooters." While writer Dylan Park tweeted about the Kenosha, Wisconsin, trial site: "Burn that mfer to the ground."

And actor Dave Bautista summed up Hollywoods contribution to the trial: "F--k that kid!"

Bautistas sentiment is similar to how the media handled the lies about Nicholas Sandman, the Covington High School student abused by the media. Sandman wrote an oped for the Daily Mail comparing the two situations. "The attacks on Kyle came from the national news media, just as they came for me."

Sandman got settlements from a couple outlets but wrote how he is "still involved in six media lawsuits." He warned how tough such cases are but urged Rittenhouse to "give it a shot and hold the media accountable."

KYLE RITTENHOUSE TRIAL: DEFENSE TEAM'S FAMED JURY CONSULTANT BOASTS PAST CLIENTS OJ SIMPSON, KOBE BRYANT

I wish. If fake news were a crime, most legacy media outlets would spend a lot more time in court than Rittenhouse.

So-called news organizations misrepresented Rittenhouse as a "white supremacist" for shooting three white guys. They did their best to bury the past of his attackers especially convicted pedophile Joseph Rosenbaum, who went to prison for sexually abusing five young boys.

The legacy press tried to paint the judge as some right-winger when hes a career Democrat and was appointed by a Democrat. Facebook and Google even manipulated their search engines to limit what readers were allowed to see about the trial.

But that was nothing like the media that depicted the trial in black and white. MSNBC became obsessed with, in the words of one commentator, "the whiteness of it all."

Host Joy Reid was far-and-away the worst in a sea of horrendous media. She mocked the "nearly all-white jury" and claimed Rittenhouse had cried "white crocodile tears."

In another rant she said he was a "Karen" and compared him to now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whining about white vigilantism and white tears particularly male white tears."

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Pretty much everything she attacks on her show has the word "white" attached to it. MSNBC legal analyst Paul Butler went on her show and called the trial "white privilege on steroids."

Reid was far from the only offender. "The View" brought on guest host Tara Setmayer, a senior advisor with the discredited Lincoln Project, who called the shootings "vigilante justice gone wrong" and said Rittenhouse was a "murderer."

But the pice de rsistance was when an MSNBC freelancer stalked the jury bus and even ran through a stoplight pursuing them. You have to hand it to MSNBC. Some outlets would only report attempts at jury tampering. MSNBC cut out the middleman and did it all themselves.

Judge Bruce Schroeder, right, listens as the verdicts are ready by Judicial Assistant Tami Mielcarek in Kyle Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. The jury came back with its verdict afer close to 3 1/2 days of deliberation. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)

NBCs statement didnt try to clear it up "the freelancer never contacted or intended to contact the jurors during deliberations, and never photographed or intended to photograph them," an NBC News spokesperson said.

Whats telling is whats not there. The statement deliberately avoids having the man identify each juror, by name and address. Thats known as doxing and has been widely used by leftist activists at least since the Occupy Wall Street protests and associated crimes.

It was so bad that NBC refused to tell viewers it was banned from the courthouse by the judge because hes trying to protect the jurors.

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Media accountability is a great fantasy. But unless Rittenhouse wins enough to take over MSNBC and a couple other outlets, nothing will change.

Todays legacy media doesnt want anyone it opposes to have a fair trial. These outlets arent covering the mob. They are supporting it.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM DAN GAINOR

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Kyle Rittenhouse trial was case of media throwing out ethics to throw the book at teen - Fox News