Using browser extensions to uncover disinformation
InVID
The InVID toolkit, originally developed with financial support from the EU, claims to be a source checking Swiss army knife for journalists and political activists [7]. InVID, which is provided under a free MIT license, bills itself as "… a platform providing services to detect, authenticate, and check the reliability and accuracy of newsworthy video files and video content spread via social media." You can use InVID as a browser extension for Firefox, Chrome, and their derivatives. The tool analyzes images and video files, from which it also extracts the metadata if desired.
For videos found on Twitter and YouTube, InVID displays the licenses associated with the video. For image searches, the app also breaks down YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter videos, and even MP4 files, into their individual keyframes, so that search engines such as TinEye can check the authenticity of the data.
After installation, you will find a button for InVID in the toolbar. Clicking on the button opens a small menu where you can select the desired function. Depending on the browser, the menus will use different designs. Use the Open Toolbox option to open the main menu in Chrome, or use Open InVID in Firefox (Figure 5).

To analyze a YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter video, choose the Analysis button in the selection menu. In the subsequent Video contextual verification window, enter the URL of the video you want to verify, and then click Submit. After a short while, the browser will display the retrieved data in a table. The report includes the title of the movie and a summary of its contents, followed by some important statistics like the number of views, the duration, and the time of the upload. The steps are slightly different but similar in Chrome and its derivatives.
WeVerify
WeVerify, an open source platform, provides the following methods and tools to address online disinformation [8]:
- Cross-modal disinformation detection and content verification tools
- Blockchain-based database of "known fakes"
- An open source content verification browser plugin
- A collaborative cross-media verification workbench
- Citizen-oriented verification chatbot
- Tools for sourcing and tracking disinformation flows
WeVerify offers forensic analysis of images (Figure 6). In Chrome-based browsers, click on Images and then select the Forensics option. Type the URL of the image you wish to check. WeVerify checks the image for inconsistencies and presents the results with links to explanations. In the lower third of the window, you will find metadata that will help you draw conclusions about fakes.

WeVerify also includes an option that lets you magnify an image published on the Internet, because sometimes magnifying the image can be enough to expose a fake.
YouTube Metadata
The free YouTube Metadata [9] online service extracts metadata from YouTube videos and displays the results in a web browser. Enter the video's cached URL in the field provided on the main page, and then click Submit. After a short time, the analysis results appear below the input line. The results contain various statistics about the analyzed video to let you determine the upload time, which will help you determine the age of the clip.
« Previous 1 2 3 Next »
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
KDE Plasma 5.27 Beta is Ready for Testing
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.
-
Netrunner OS 23 Is Now Available
The latest version of this Linux distribution is now based on Debian Bullseye and is ready for installation and finally hits the KDE 5.20 branch of the desktop.
-
New Linux Distribution Built for Gamers
With a Gnome desktop that offers different layouts and a custom kernel, PikaOS is a great option for gamers of all types.
-
System76 Beefs Up Popular Pangolin Laptop
The darling of open-source-powered laptops and desktops will soon drop a new AMD Ryzen 7-powered version of their popular Pangolin laptop.
-
Nobara Project Is a Modified Version of Fedora with User-Friendly Fixes
If you're looking for a version of Fedora that includes third-party and proprietary packages, look no further than the Nobara Project.
-
Gnome 44 Now Has a Release Date
Gnome 44 will be officially released on March 22, 2023.
-
Nitrux 2.6 Available with Kernel 6.1 and a Major Change
The developers of Nitrux have officially released version 2.6 of their Linux distribution with plenty of new features to excite users.
-
Vanilla OS Initial Release Is Now Available
A stock GNOME experience with on-demand immutability finally sees its first production release.
-
Critical Linux Vulnerability Found to Impact SMB Servers
A Linux vulnerability with a CVSS score of 10 has been found to affect SMB servers and can lead to remote code execution.
-
Linux Mint 21.1 Now Available with Plenty of Look and Feel Changes
Vera has arrived and although it is still using kernel 5.15, there are plenty of improvements sure to please everyone.