Reviewed information

Concrete questions to verify a photo or video about Russia and Ukraine before sharing it

A practical question-based guide drawn from UNESCO's five-step verification method for assessing photos and videos about Russia and Ukraine before sharing them.

01

The five-question method: provenance, source, motivation, location and time

Before forwarding an image or video related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it is worth pausing and applying a basic set of questions. In a UNESCO training for journalism educators, an approach called "Verification in Five Steps" was presented, covering the provenance, source, motivation, location and time of online information. This is not an automatic tool that confirms the authenticity of a piece of content; rather, it is a series of questions readers can ask themselves to reduce the risk of spreading misleading material.

The first question concerns provenance: where did this image or video originally come from? Who published it first, and on which platform? The second relates to the source: is it an official account, a recognised outlet or an anonymous profile? The third addresses motivation: what interest might the publisher have in sharing this material? Are they seeking to inform, provoke outrage or drive traffic to a website? These questions do not deliver a definitive conclusion, but they help identify warning signs before you hit share.

02

Location and time: what can be confirmed and what remains unresolved

The remaining two questions in the method concern location and time. Does the scene shown match the location mentioned in the post? Are there visible references — buildings, signs, vegetation — consistent with that area? As for timing, is the image or video genuinely recent, or could it be older material reused in a new context?

It is important to note that these questions are a starting point, not conclusive proof. Answering them may require searching for earlier publications of the same material or comparing with other sources. If you cannot confirm the location or date, the most cautious course is not to share the content, or to share it while clearly stating which details remain unverified. This method does not replace a full journalistic investigation, nor does it by itself prove the authenticity of any specific video about the conflict.

03

Reverse image search and manipulated videos: what they are and what they are not

The same training also mentioned reverse image search techniques as a practical example for tracing whether a photo had previously been published in another context. Reverse image search allows you to compare an image against results on the web and detect whether it has been used before with a different description. However, this technique does not certify that an image is authentic or that it corresponds to the event being described; it only provides clues about its publication history.

Participants also explored examples of videos to identify manipulated content, including deepfakes and shallowfakes, and to recognise the differences between them. This exercise was part of an educational workshop and does not constitute a verification of current events in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. None of these techniques, on its own, offers absolute certainty. When in doubt, the practical recommendation is not to share until at least two independent sources confirm the same fact, and always to indicate which aspects remain unconfirmed.

Sources

Check sources