Image Authenticity Verification Checklist

This checklist is vendor-neutral. It works with AI-generated images, edited photographs, screenshots, social-media posts, product photographs, identity images, event photographs, suspicious profile pictures, manipulated documents and images used in scams or with misleading captions.

Step 1: Identify the claim

• What is the image supposed to prove?
• Who sent or published it?
• What action are they asking you to take?
• Is there urgency, fear or emotional pressure?
• Does the claim involve money, identity or reputation?
• Would the image still matter without the accompanying caption?

Step 2: Check the source

• The original account or website has been located.
• The account is genuine.
• The earliest available version has been found.
• The original caption has been read.
• The publication date has been checked.
• The location has been checked.
• The account has a credible history.
• The image is not merely a screenshot of another post.

Step 3: Inspect the image

• Text and labels are consistent.
• Hands and small objects are plausible.
• Lighting and shadows make sense.
• Reflections match the scene.
• Background patterns are not duplicated.
• Perspective is consistent.
• Objects do not merge unexpectedly.
• Logos and uniforms are accurate.
• Faces and identities are consistent.
• Nothing appears physically impossible.

Step 4: Search for other versions

• Reverse-image or visual search completed.
• Earlier copies were reviewed.
• Different captions were compared.
• The original photographer or publisher was identified where possible.
• Stock-image sources were checked.
• Cropped or edited versions were identified.

No search result does not prove the image is genuine. New images may not yet be indexed, and an entirely AI-generated image may have no prior history.

Step 5: Check the context

• The alleged event occurred.
• Reliable reporting confirms it.
• Other images or videos exist.
• The weather, location and date are plausible.
• The person or organisation involved has commented.
• The image has not been reused from an older event.
• The caption matches the original source.

Step 6: Review provenance

• Content Credentials checked where available.
• Metadata reviewed where appropriate.
• File creation or editing information recorded.
• Platform AI label noted.
• Original file requested where necessary.
• Screenshot limitations considered.

The absence of credentials does not prove an image is fake. The presence of credentials does not prove the attached story is true.

Step 7: Use detection tools cautiously

• More than one indicator was considered.
• Detector limitations were understood.
• Compression and editing were accounted for.
• The result was not treated as a verdict.
• A false positive would not cause unfair harm.
• Human review remains part of the process.

Step 8: Assess the risk

Step 9: Record the decision

For important cases, retain:

• Original file
• Original URL
• Sender
• Date received
• Claimed context
• Search results
• Provenance findings
• Detection-tool results
• Corroborating evidence
• Reviewer
• Final decision
• Escalation or approval