STEP 4 When Was The Video Taken? YouTube and other video sharing sites stamp videos with the time and date they were uploaded. However, the timestamp only indicates when the video was uploaded, not when it was originally filmed. Also, the date and time given may not correspond to the time zone of the uploader’s location, but rather the time zone of the online platform’s offices. Here are some methods to assist in verifying when the video was filmed: Narration: If the video is narrated, skilled filmers often state the date, time, and location within the video itself, or hold a newspaper or handwritten note up to the camera indicating that information. Of course, the filmer could make up that information, but if this information is included, it could be one place to start. Visual Indicators: As in Step 2, visual indicators can help determine the day and time the video was taken. Sites like Weather Underground9 give weather on a particular date and time in a given location. Does it match what is in the video? Are there shadows, a sun or a moon in the sky that indicate what time of the day it is? You can use an almanac like this one from the US Navy10 to determine the sunrise and sunset at given locations on specific dates. FROM THE FIELD IDENTIFYING MANIPULATED VIDEOS Videos can be technically manipulated or staged. Here are a few cautionary examples of videos that turned out to be fake. Technical manipulation: Special effects or even simple editing can be used to create a hoax. This article explains the debunking of a video12 that thousands of people believed to show an eagle snatching a baby from a park. Clues that led viewers to debunk it include shadows, the weather, the lack of corroborating information one would expect from other witnesses and local news media, and the existence of an animation school in the city that incentivizes its students to “hoax the Internet”. Be cautious of video of low quality or low light, as the lack of visual or audio clarity can make it more difficult for the viewer to notice edits. Staged videos: A viewer can verify the date, time, and location of a video, but whether or not the action in that video is staged rather than authentic can be nearly impossible to determine. Viewers familiar with the region, issues, or language are more likely to pick up on any red flags that may indicate the video is a hoax or has been manipulated. A two-part series in the Washington Post describes a video13 from South Korea that was thought to be real but turned out to be a performance by paid actors. A video appearing to show a boy run through sniper fire in Syria14 was viewed millions of times before the BBC exposed that it was not a Syrian video at all, but was filmed by a professional crew and actors in Malta intended to look like it was a Syrian citizen video. 175 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: VERIFYING EYEWITNESS VIDEO V 2.0 SHARING Corroborate: If several people witnessed the event in the video, you might expect several online reports of what happened. Can you corroborate the substance of the event filmed in the video with simultaneous reports on social media and elsewhere? Services such as GeoFeedia11 show tweets from given locations throughout the world. Can you use tweets, hashtags, Instagram photos, or Facebook posts to corroborate the event that appears to be documented in the video? In this case, make sure the reports are independent and don’t all rely on the same source.