Olga presented The MeVer toolset for tackling media disinformation, starting with a brief introduction, moving on to visual disinformation thereafter. Visual disinformation poses increased risks because it
Olga first presented and then demonstrated, with disinformation examples, the functionalities of the different tools.
The Image Verification Assistant highlights areas in an image that have been digitally manipulated. The tool supports the following functionalities:
Example: a flag was digitally added to the image depicted below which was shared during the Catalan referendum to denounce the actions of the Spanish authorities. The Fusion Algorithm detects the tampered area and highlights it.
The DeepFake Detection tool, in turn, assesses the probability of deepfake face manipulations in images and videos. In the case of video, the tool segments the video in shots, detects the depicted faces in each shot and estimates the probability of deepfake face manipulation in each face.
Example: A video with Donald and Melania Trump in which the face of Putin appears instead of Melania's. The video is detected with a likelihood of 94% being a deepfake.
The Location Estimation tool concerns out-of-context images that are published as breaking news while being taken at different locations or during earlier events. The tool infers the depicted location using solely visual cues.
Example: A Facebook post shared the below image and claimed that a tsunami hit the southern Philippines. Using the visual Location Estimation tool, the depicted location was detected as Rio de Janeiro.
The Near Duplicate Detection and the MeVer Network Analysis and Visualization tools were also demonstrated for finding similar content and analysing social media conversations respectively.
For more information about the entire event go to the EBU webpage, also find Olgas presentation here. The work of the MeVer team, including more insights and links, can be found on the group's team website.
Authors: Olga Papadopoulou & Symeon Papadopoulos (CERTH)
Editors: Anna Schild & Jochen Spangenberg (DW)