Research Guides: Fake News and Information Literacy: Fake Images & Statistics

Identifying misleading statistics and graphs

How statistics can be misleading
TEDEd animation by Mark Liddell.
How to spot a misleading graph
TEDEd animation by Lea Gaslowitz.
3 ways to spot a bad statistic
An entertaining TED talk by data journalist Mona Chalabi.
Misleading axes on graphs
Using & Misusing Statistics
From a Fordham University Libraries guide on Fake News.

Deepfakes

This blog article "Deepfakes: What They Are, Why They Matter", describes deepfakes as

"...a technique in which artificial intelligence-based technology is used to alter or produce video content. Essentially, a deepfake is a video of something that looks like it occurred, but truly did not."

Deepfakes: Can You Spot a Phony Video?
PBS' Above the Noise -- 6 minute video.
Deepfake Videos Are Getting Real and That’s a Problem
10 minute video from the Wall Street Journal; interview with Berkeley computer science professor Hany Farid.

Learn more

How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff; Irving Geis This classic work is still used today.
Call Number: HA29 .H82 (Knight Library General & Math Library)
Publication Date: 1954
Stat-Spotting: A Practical Field Guide to Identifying Dubious Data by Joel Best A "practical field guide to help everyone identify questionable statistics." Features pertinent examples from news and "a commonsense approach that doesn't require advanced math or statistics."
Call Number: HM535 .B477 2008 and e-book
Publication Date: 2008

Need Help?

Checking Images

FotoForensics
A free site that allows you to upload a jpeg, png, WebP or url for analysis.
How to Fact-Check Images with Google
A brief tutorial on using Google reverse image search.
TinEye Reverse Image Search
Upload an image or enter a URL.

If you really want to dig deeper, see these articles:

Farid, Hany. "How to Detect Faked Photos" American Scientist 105 (2) p.77, 2017.

Wen, Tiffanie. "The hidden signs that can reveal a fake photo" BBC Future, 29th June 2017.