https://forensics.media/ Drop in an image or audio file and read out what it reveals — metadata, edits, source device, provenance — with how reliable each method actually is. en https://forensics.media/articles/how-to-verify-if-an-image-is-real https://forensics.media/articles/how-to-verify-if-an-image-is-real Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The open-source workflow for checking whether a photo is genuine and in context, reverse search, geolocation and metadata, and where each step quietly fails. https://forensics.media/articles/does-a-screenshot-remove-metadata https://forensics.media/articles/does-a-screenshot-remove-metadata Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Uploading a photo usually strips its EXIF, and a screenshot goes further, replacing the original metadata with your own device and the current time. What survives, and what it means. https://forensics.media/articles/how-prnu-camera-fingerprinting-works https://forensics.media/articles/how-prnu-camera-fingerprinting-works Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT PRNU is the noise fingerprint every camera sensor leaves in its photos. Where the fingerprint comes from, how a match is declared, and why it identifies the device, not the model. https://forensics.media/articles/how-to-tell-what-camera-took-a-photo https://forensics.media/articles/how-to-tell-what-camera-took-a-photo Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Metadata names the camera until someone strips or fakes it. What sensor-noise fingerprinting can recover when it is gone, and why it is a lab tool, not a web one. https://forensics.media/articles/what-does-exif-data-reveal https://forensics.media/articles/what-does-exif-data-reveal Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT EXIF metadata can reveal the camera, lens, date, editing software and GPS location of a photo. What each field tells an investigator, and why none of it is proof on its own. https://forensics.media/articles/how-to-detect-photoshop-manipulation https://forensics.media/articles/how-to-detect-photoshop-manipulation Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Detecting Photoshop means two different things, confirming a file was opened in Adobe software, which is easy, and proving its content was deliberately manipulated, which no single test can do. How an analyst fuses weak signals into a finding. https://forensics.media/articles/what-is-error-level-analysis https://forensics.media/articles/what-is-error-level-analysis Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Error Level Analysis resaves a JPEG at a known quality and highlights regions whose compression error does not match the rest. How the technique works step by step, and why it is a lead rather than a verdict. https://forensics.media/articles/how-to-tell-if-a-photo-is-edited https://forensics.media/articles/how-to-tell-if-a-photo-is-edited Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT No single test proves a photo was edited. The signals a forensic analyst actually checks, from metadata to error levels to cloning, and why each is a lead, not a verdict. https://forensics.media/articles/how-accurate-is-camera-fingerprinting https://forensics.media/articles/how-accurate-is-camera-fingerprinting Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Camera fingerprinting is highly accurate on original files and much weaker on shared ones. The real-world numbers, where the match collapses, and when a PRNU result is worth trusting. https://forensics.media/articles/can-exif-data-be-faked https://forensics.media/articles/can-exif-data-be-faked Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT EXIF tags reveal a photo's camera, time and GPS, but every field can be rewritten in seconds. How to spot forged metadata, and when to trust it. https://forensics.media/articles/is-error-level-analysis-reliable https://forensics.media/articles/is-error-level-analysis-reliable Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT What Error Level Analysis can and cannot show in a photo, why its own creator calls the results inconclusive, and when a bright ELA map means nothing. https://forensics.media/articles/how-reliable-is-photo-forensics https://forensics.media/articles/how-reliable-is-photo-forensics Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT What digital photo forensics can and cannot prove, why every method is a probability not a verdict, and when a forensic result is actually worth trusting. https://forensics.media/articles/what-can-forensics-learn-from-a-file https://forensics.media/articles/what-can-forensics-learn-from-a-file Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A field guide to what a photo, video or audio file can reveal, when it was made, where, by what device, whether it was edited, and how far to trust each answer.