Separate media from its caption
See this course’s project requirements
A media-verification packet with a claim map, provenance trail, cue log, independent-channel check, claim-specific verdicts, and a share-or-hold note.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- Extract the event, place, time, and consequence claims.
- Trace the fictional media history and separate reposts from independent sources.
- Record cues with alternative explanations and detector limits.
- Verify the request through a separately established channel.
- Write claim-specific verdicts and a private sharing decision.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Observations remain separate from inferred causes.
- Source history and independent evidence are accurately traced.
- Verdicts distinguish contradicted claims from unknown production methods.
- The final action avoids unsupported claims and unnecessary amplification.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
Fictional post P1: caption “The town library flooded today; all classes are canceled.” Attached image description: water on a street beside a brick building; no readable sign, date, or town landmark. The image’s origin is unknown. A second post P2 clearly labels an illustrated library as “imagined concept art.” No external images are needed.
A real image can carry a false caption; content and claim need separate checks.
Separate media from its caption: guided practice
A real image can carry a false caption; content and claim need separate checks.
Use paper or a free local text editor. This is an original fictional practice case; do not submit its records to a real service. Start this lesson with these facts, even if an earlier variation changed them. Fictional post P1: caption “The town library flooded today; all classes are canceled.” Attached image description: water on a street beside a brick building; no readable sign, date, or town landmark. The image’s origin is unknown. A second post P2 clearly labels an illustrated library as “imagined concept art.” No external images are needed.
1. Extract the claim
Split P1 into event, place, date, and consequence.
You should see: Flood at this town’s library today; all classes canceled.
Each part can be true or false independently.
2. Describe only visible content
Write an observation without adopting the caption.
You should see: The image shows street water and a brick building, with no identifying sign.
Observation should not inherit unverified location or time.
3. Separate synthetic from deceptive
Classify P2 by its transparent label.
You should see: P2 is labeled concept art; synthetic creation alone does not establish deception.
Intent and presentation matter as well as production method.
4. Choose the next evidence
Name a direct source for the cancellation claim.
You should see: The library’s official current notice or confirmed contact channel.
Operational claims need operational evidence, not an evocative image.
What to finish
Separate media from its caption record with the worked decisions and changed-case check.
Watch for this
Treating an image’s emotional impact as evidence of the caption’s location, date, or consequence.
How can I tell I understand it?
Extract the exact claim attached to an image or clip. Explain the evidence behind the result and correct any mismatch.
Quick knowledge check
Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.
You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.
Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.
Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
Go to the knowledge checkOptional course overview video
Election Misinformation Symposium: Fighting Misinfo Through Fact-checking and Deepfake Detection
From Center for Media Engagement. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
Optional course overview. Follow the written steps below at your own pace.Tools, templates, and lesson sources
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Sources and further reading
Explore the references behind this lesson.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Inspected the project overview, limits of visual detection, and linked symposium video.
Access: Public page or PDF inspected without payment or institutional sign-in on September 12, 2026. Optional external accounts are unnecessary for this course.
Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Inspected lateral reading, upstream checking, reverse-image searching, and the distinction between existing interventions and ongoing AI research.
Access: Public page or PDF inspected without payment or institutional sign-in on September 12, 2026. Optional external accounts are unnecessary for this course.
Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Watch URL discovered through web search or an inspected official page; YouTube oEmbed returned this exact title and channel. Metadata verified; full playback and captions were not tested.
Access: Public YouTube metadata returned without sign-in on September 12, 2026. The video is optional; playback and caption availability were not tested.
Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.
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