No Trust on the Interwebs (12/04/2025)
"I have photo and video evidence."
This phrase was a slam dunk when it came to prove a true and accurate representation of something that occurred. Nowadays, I don’t trust any digital photos or videos unless I see them take the picture with an old school camera.
Privacy issues began with the use of a camera which led to the first article about "The Right to Privacy" in 1890. This article was published a few years after Kodak released its first public camera in 1888. Ever since people have said "That’s not me!"
While we should have a right to privacy, it’s much easier to say that any photos and videos are fake these days. Now I know in certain formats like JPEG, hidden data (EXIF) is attached to the photo to help with proving accuracy, but this information can also be manipulated and removed.
My wife showed me a video of a bear and a cat on a backyard trampoline and when the bear jumped, the cat went flying a long distance into a pool. I have seen videos of animals having fun with backyard activities, I have never seen a cat and a bear acting casually with each other. I know the video is fake based on natural animal instincts of fear.
The cat or the bear easily could have scared the other away. I grew up in an area where wildlife versus domestic animals and humans can clash. Fear usually wins with nothing happening but there are times when fear doesn’t win.
We are on the precipice of not being able to tell fake photos and videos from real ones. Photo and video evidence today should be scrutinized and inspected for "realness" which is another layer that could be fabricated.
What is real and what is not real? Can I believe my own eyes if I see it right in front of me instead of on a device?
