If someone is attempting to pass along false information, either deliberately or not, asking direct questions will often result in the person’s admission that they did not actually film the footage themselves. Additionally, it is possible to cross-reference answers to some of these questions with available information by examining the EXIF data in a photo, or comparing video of a specific location to Google Street View, which we detail in subsequent chapters. But first you have to find the person responsible for the content. Researching the history of an uploader can mimic the characteristics of an old-fashioned police investigation, and perhaps also make you feel more like a stalker rather than a journalist or researcher. Some people list a great deal of information on their social profiles, and a real name (especially one that is not too common) can provide a wealth of information. As people live more of their lives on different social networks, they are often unaware how clues can be combined to build up a substantial dossier of information. A YouTube profile with little personal information listed but that includes a website URL can lead a journalist to a person’s address, email and personal telephone number, via the website who.is.c 3. Confirming the date of the event Verifying the date of a piece of video can be one of the most difficult elements of verification. Some activists are aware of this fact and will show a newspaper from that day, with the date clearly visible when they share their footage. This obviously isn’t foolproof, but if an uploader becomes known and trusted by organizations, be they news or humanitarian, this is a helpful additional piece of information. Be aware that YouTube date stamps its video using Pacific Standard Time. This can sometimes mean that video appears to have been uploaded before an event took place. Another way to help ascertain date is by using weather information. Wolfram Alpha16 is a computational knowledge engine that, among other things, allows you to check weather from a particular date. (Simply type in a phrase such as “What was the weather in Caracas on September 24, 2013” to get a result.) This can be combined with tweets and data from local weather forecasters, as well as other uploads from the same location on the same day, to cross-reference weather. 4. Confirming the location Only a small percentage of content is automatically geolocated, but mapping platforms Google Maps, Google Earth, Wikimapia - of the first checks that need to be performed for c A journalist should always check both of these tools. Sometimes results can emerge on one and not the other. « 30