Thread by @brechtcastel

This #meme shows an 'experiment' on #GMO 🌽.

It went #viral multiple times in the last decade.

Do we see a scientific study by 'students in England'❓

I found who took these pictures. How? 👇👇👇 1/..

#OSINT 🔎
#GeoLocation 🌎
#Verification 📸
#SpeurJeMee? 🧐 #HowToOSINT

We'll look for the original context 1⃣ AND we'll examine whether this 'experiment' meets the scientific standard 2⃣. 2/...

1⃣ To find the original context, we need to find who posted this picture first.

You always start this kind of investiagion with muliptle (!) Reverse Image Searches. Always use #Google, #Yandex, #TinEye (👇) and #Bing. 3/...

The oldest versions we find on #TinEye were published in 2013, on two sites with funny photo collections.

No original context to find here. 😢

BUT we now have an older picture in a slightly better quality. 🙂 4/...

piximus.net/fun/daily-mix-…

We do another Reverse Image Search with this older picture.

With #Bing we find a few very similar photos with 🌽🌽 on the photo site #Flickr 🟥. 5/...

The #Flickr-profile of 'Farmerboy 720' contains multiple similar corn pictures. 6/...

One of those photos (left), posted online on 4 October 2012, appears to be identical to the #meme under investigation (right), except for the colour balance of the photo. 🥳7/...

This is the oldest version of the picture we find online, so there is a good chance that this is the original. 👌

(Always look for #oldest version! 🔎)

Farmerboy 720 seems to be an American farmer (according to his pics). We verify! 👇 8/...
8/...

On Farmerboy720's #Flickr profile, we also find a reference to his profile on #Twitter.

According to the description of that profile, he is a dairy farmer from the state of #SouthDakota 🇺🇸 who is co-owner of Fonder Bros Organic Dairy. 9/...

When we look up 'Fonder Bros Organic Dairy' on a company data site (Yellow Place), we find an exact location in Google Maps 🟥. 10/...

That location turns out to be a farm in #SouthDakota.

We compare satellite images of that location in #GoogleEarth with a photo from the Flickr profile. A silo 🟨, a large barn 🟥 and a smaller barn 🟩 match.

➡️The Flickr profile contains pictures of this farm. 11/...

If we combine some Flickr photos, we get a better view of the arrangement of the 🌽🌽 cobs.

We see a front view (left), a back view (right) and a side view (centre) showing a 🐿️ gnawing on a corncob.

The side view shows a white and green building in the background.🧐 12/...

I found a #YouTube-channel of the same farmer, watched some of his vlogs and noticed this building in the background of a #video. 🧐 13/...

🥳BINGO🥳

We see the same type of window 🟨, a similar corner structure 🟥 and the same white-green walls 🟦.

The photo was probably taken on the other side of the building.

#GeoLocation completed. 📍

14/...

❌We now know the 📸 was taken on a farm in South Dakota 🇺🇸 and not 'by students in England' 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. ❌

Moreover, the American farmer himself confirms this on his #Twitter account on 24 April 2013. 👇 15/...

We contact the man 👨‍🌾in question to ask him about the purpose of his experiment, but get no response. 😢16/...

2⃣ Is this a #scientific experiment?

Short anwser: NO. 🚫

Longer answer: 👇 17/...

The farmer himself argues in favour of his #experiment in an old #Twitter-discussion. 18/...

But there are a few problems with this experiment.

1) The (!) GMO maize does not exist. Is this an approved GMO or an experimental GMO? If it is an approved GMO, which one?

In the 🇺🇸, 40 different maize GMOs have been approved for cultivation and use in food and feed. 19/...

2) You have to make sure that the two have the same genetic background.

The non-GMO might taste sweeter in this case, just because it is a different variety.

Expert: "Comparing a GMO Grany Smith 🍏 with a non-GMO Golden Delicious 🍎 is not a correct comparison." 20/...

3) Different cultivation #conditions can also have an influence on such a test.

The two samples must have been grown under the same conditions, in the same period, in the same field, soil, fertiliser, etc. Any other treatment can lead to a different composition and taste. 21/...

4) Finally, the American farmer's #sample turns out to be much too small.

Comparing one GMO flask with one non-GMO flask is worthless as an experiment.

#Scientific conclusions are always based on sufficient repetitions so that a #statistical #analysis can be made. 22/...

CONCLUSION by expert: ❌"Two (possibly very different) cobs of corn 🌽🌽 in uncontrolled conditions is not worthy of the name #experiment." ❌

You can read my ful #FactCheck (in Dutch) via @Knack here: knack.be/nieuws/factche…

23/25

@Knack What have we learned? 👩‍🏫

1) Combine info from different social networks. 🔗
2) Always do a new (!) Reverse Image Search if you find an older picture. 🔎📸
3) Don't use #memes to learn about complicated subjects like #GMOs. Ask an expert! 🧙‍♂️24/25

@Knack Did you like this 🧵with #OSINT for #FactChecking?

I have more #SpeurJeMee?🧐#HowToOSINT, underneath this tweet. 👇

And follow me @brechtcastel for upcoming investigations! 🍻 25/END

https://twitter.com/brechtcastel/status/1390688405416198145

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