Dear journos: please be extra careful at the moment to verify pictures and content related to this crisis. A quick thread (w h/t to @beyondreasdoubt)

Here is a claim by ABC7NY. A crowded NYT subway train. Apparently this is the No. 2 Train from April 2, 6pm.

Except ... it's not.

A reverse-image search of the image shows the same image from March 30. So, it's definitely not from April 2. And the original poster says it's from 840am. https://twitter.com/showmetheequity/status/1244610291226247168

So how come ABC7NY thought this was from April 2 at 6pm? Because someone else took that image and posted it here. https://twitter.com/progressiveact/status/1245874480863416320

Under that post, several journalists ask permission to use the photo

The reposter says "sure, you can use it, credit me (not the original poster)" and replies that it was taken "around 6" when asked when it was taken.

Except that account didn't take the picture, and the picture wasn't taken around 6.

And then it ends up being published as fact, which it isn't.

E.g, here is Daily Mail's article from that wrong tweet. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8183545/Shocking-picture-shows-New-York-train-packed-mask-wearing-passengers-despite-lockdown.html

Now it's not the fault of these journalists that this account decided to lie to them because, idk, yay rage-clicks or whatever. But it *is* problematic that they didn't at least run the image through a reverse-image search before posting it as a bare-minimum verification.

These are scary times. Please be a lot more careful to make sure photos and videos really are genuine before posting them as news, or reposting them on social media.

Lots of ways to do a reverse-image search, but the easiest way to do this to click the tweet, save the image, go to Google Images, drag the saved file into google's image search bar, then view "all sizes" of the image.

Also this tweet got unthreaded and twitter still doesn't have an "edit tweet" button :( https://twitter.com/pwnallthethings/status/1246127692174557185