Recognizing Fake Photos

Digital imagery has created some justified concerns for editors and publishers as well as for judges and law enforcement officers. With well under $1,000 in equipment and moderate computer skills, almost anyone with normal patience can fake photographs that will pass visual inspection. Credibility is at stake.

OE Magazine, the official publication of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, has published a readable and informative article entitled Photofakery.

In the article's introduction, the writers explain what a fake image is. They go on to discuss how fake images are easily created using digital imaging technology. The article also tells the reader just what to look for, the signs identifying fake images. And lest the reader become overconfident, the section headlined "The Difficulty of Detecting Fake Images" explains just that -- how it is difficult to detect fake images.

The most ominous statement comes near the end of the article: "Although image analysis tools can help detect many fake images, currently there is no way to stop somebody from spending the time and resources to make a fake image that is not detectible."