Got a Smartphone? Here's How You Can Use It for Image and Video Verification

Script & Editorial Inputs: Kritika Goel & Abhilash Mallick

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

Camera: Athar Rather

You know your smart phone is actually smarter than you think it is.

In this episode of 'Verify Kiya Kya?', we will tell you some simple tricks by which you can verify images on your Android and iPhone.

Download the Google Chrome App

If you don't have the 'Google Chrome' app pre-installed on your phone, then you can quickly do that by going to ‘Google Play Store’ on your Android phone or ‘App Store’ on your iPhone.

Once you have done that, there are two simple ways by which you can conduct a reverse image search.

• If there's a picture on the web and you want to conduct a reverse image search to find out where is it from, all you have to do is long press on the image and the option which says ’Search Google for This Image’ or 'Search image with Google Lens' will appear.

On clicking on this option, you will be led to a search page where you can see if this image has been used somewhere else in the past or if it's on some stock image site and other related information.

This really comes in handy in cases where even mainstream media use old images especially in times on natural calamities, conflicts etc.

And if the image is on your phone, then follow these steps:

• Go to your Chrome app

• Click on the three dots at the bottom of the screen.

• ‘Request Desktop Site’ on iPhone or check the box titled 'Desktop site' on Android.

• Once you click on this option and then open images.google.com, you will notice this tiny camera icon on your search bar, which will allow you to upload an image.

How To Copy Text From an Image?

There is an additional feature that allows you to copy any text which is on the photo.

It can be done using the 'Google Lens' app on Android and the ‘Google’ app on an iPhone.

This feature allows you to simply copy the text to help make your verification better. All you have to do is:

Open the app, select the picture from your gallery, and copy the text from it.

This also allows you to look for pre-existing fact-checks, if any.

Just the way you can verify images on your phone, you can also verify videos. You can simply take a screenshot of the video, upload the image and voila, you will get the details.

Using your mobile for verification can be a very effective and useful way to fight misinformation or disinformation.

(This is the fifth video of a series titled 'Verify Kiya Kya?' exploring the nuances of fact-checking and media literacy. In the next video we will touch upon geolocation. Stay tuned!)

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)