😱Video of New Zealand PM 'smoking crack'😱

#Real or #fake? Let’s find out. πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡ 1/...

#OSINT πŸ”Ž
#Verification πŸ“Ή
#SpeurJeMee? 🧐 #HowToOSINT Image
On 1 Oct. someone posts a video on #Twitter.

We see two videos superimposed. According to the caption , we would see the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern twice.

At the top she appears to be talking to #BillGates and at the bottom she appears to be using #crack. πŸ”ž2/. Image
We also find the same video in various other posts on #Twitter, #YouTube, #Facebook and on the alternative video site #BitChute.

In total, these videos were viewed more than 31,000 times. Let's verify! 3/...
The video states its source: t.me/endilluminati.

On the #Telegram chat app called 'End Iluminati' we search for 'New Zealand'.

We find the same video uploaded over a month and a half earlier, on 13 August 2021. This oldest version was viewed more than 10K. 4/... Image
People in this group might believe in a #ConspirayTheory: "The #Illuminati are the supposed overlords controlling the world’s affairs, operating secretly as they seek to establish a New World Order."

Those crack-smoking elites! πŸ‘Ώ5/...
We examine the origin of the two videos used in this widespread video compilation. We will start with the upper part and then examine the lower part.

The upper party is easy: we google for videos of Bill Gates and Jacinda ArdernπŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ. 6/... Image
The first result appears to be a video uploaded on YouTube by the Gates Foundation. It is a capture of a panel discussion in New York:

Looking from 0:14 (left), the footage appears to match the top video on social media (right).βœ… 7/... Image
Also the sound comes from this panel discussion and is authentic. βœ…

What about the crack-smoking video?

We try different reverse image searches, but the quality is too low. No results. 😒 8/...
Therefore, we search on YouTube with the query 'Jacinda Ardern Smoking'.

This brings us to the video 'Jacinda Ardern Smokes Cannabis' uploaded on 9 October 2020 on YouTube on the channel Genuine Fake. The channel says clearly it contains #deepfakes. 9/... ImageImage
You can watch the video here:

It's not allowed under πŸ”ž10/...
This video is 2:23 and thus longer than the 57-second compilation video. But certain fragments are similar.

Five days later a shorter version (51 seconds) was uploaded to another YouTube channel: New Zealand Green. Here it's not indicated this might be a #fake. 11/... Image
That channel contains activist videos of demonstrations pro legalisation of cannabis 🟨.

Both YouTube channels appear to be linked. The New Zealand Green channel advertises "my new channel - Genuine Fake" πŸŸ₯.

➑️So the video was probably uploaded twice by the same person. 12/.. Image
So one version (left) comes from a channel that makes it clear that it is a #fake: both by the name of the channel and by a caption "Really Fake" on the video πŸŸ₯.

The other video (right) does not show anything that at first sight points to a forgery. 13/... Image
At 0:18 in the Telegram video, we see the woman making a movement with her right hand (yellow frames). We also see this in the video of 'Genuine Fake' at 0:55.

This is not in the video of New Zealand Green.

Why is this important? 14/... Image
➑️So the video of 'End Illuminati' was based on the video where, at first glance, you are told that it is a #fake.

That is an indication of deliberate #deception. ❌❌15/...
We have a strong indication that this is a #deepfake, but can we prove it ❓❔❓ 16/...
If we upload a screenshot of the video to the #Bing search engine, it suggests that we are seeing New Zealand Labour politician Jacinda Ardern.

There is no evidence that this is a fake. πŸ˜•17/... Image
A local newspaper wrote about the video: "Now, it's clear within a few seconds that this isn't Jacinda Ardern. Firstly, the real Jacinda's nail game is much too strong to use press-ons of that nature. Secondly, it's just obviously not her face." 18/...

odt.co.nz/star-news/star…
Those who have already seen a lot of footage of the New ZealandπŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ PM could thus easily unmask the deepfake, according to Otago Daily Times.

But those less familiar with Ardern could just as easily fall for it, according to many comments.

Local knowledge =πŸ—οΈ
19/...
From the comments under the video on the YouTube channel Genuine Fake, the person who posted the video online also explicitly admits that it is a deepfake from an 'educational video' on 'joint-rolling'.

All leading to 'fake', but we want #proof!

20/... ImageImage
🀑The person also admits to liking 'to brew a conspiracy theory'.

Someone responds with the 'recipe' for this: 'three teaspoons of paranoia, two cups of social media and a sprinkle of "new world order"'. πŸ˜΅β€πŸ’«21/... Image
Comparing a photo of Jacinda Ardern (left) with the face in the video (right), two conspicuous patches of skin 🟨) are missing from her neck.

Missing details like that could indicate a forgery. ❌22/... Image
We also load the video into the deepfake detection tool of deepware.ai.

According to that #analysis, we see a #deepfake. ❌

The probability varies from computer model to computer model: from 54% certainty to 99% certainty. 23/... Image
⚠️BUT, be carful: these scanners can give an indication, but are not yet very reliable. ⚠️

For example, this scanner could not unmask a recent #deepfake of πŸ‡§πŸ‡ͺ celebrity. πŸ‘‡ 24/...

Image
Conclusive #proof that this is a deepfake can only be found by finding the original images, to which the face was subsequently pasted via #AI.

I searched for many hours by reverse image search and other techniques...πŸ”Ž25/...
By using the crop tool in #Yandex and googling, I was able to identify objects in the video: the T-shirt πŸŸͺ, the microphone πŸŸ₯ and the rolling tray 🟩.

Unfortunately this info didn’t help me to find the original footage. 😒😒 26/... Image
But then I opened #Twitter and saw this tweet from my #OSINT-friend Ben Heubl (follow @Techjournalisto!).

@Techjournalisto @tthompsonfuller from @AfpFactual did find the original footage! πŸ₯³πŸΎπŸ₯³

Did he have better tools? Was he more clever?

Accoring to him: "As you know it's most just luck / trial and error." A simple Reverse Image Search in #Yandex did the trick! 28/... Image
@Techjournalisto @tthompsonfuller @AfpFactual The original footage was uploaded to YouTube on May 6, 2019 by a certain Kush Evelia titled '420 ASMR SMOKE SESH HOTBOXING MY BATHROOM | JOINT + JOINT BUBBLER'. 29/... Image
@Techjournalisto @tthompsonfuller @AfpFactual If we compare screenshots of Jacinda Ardern's #deepfake (left) with screenshots of the original images (right), it is clear that the face has been altered.

πŸ₯³WE FOUND PROOFπŸ₯³ 30/... Image
@Techjournalisto @tthompsonfuller @AfpFactual CONCLUSION: The person in the video smoked a #joint through a glass pipe and not #crack. That person is NOT Jacinda Ardern.❌❌❌

Btw, the Ardern admitted to smoking #cannabis in an interview. But as far as is known, there are no images of this. 31/34
nytimes.com/2020/10/01/wor…
@Techjournalisto @tthompsonfuller @AfpFactual @Knack What have we learned? πŸ‘©β€πŸ«

1) In reverse image search, you can only enforce #luck through #persistence. πŸ’ͺ

2) Don't rely on #deepfake #detection tools. False positives are possible. πŸ¦Ύβš”οΈ

3) #Deepfakes pop up: don't trust what you' see. πŸ‘€Check! 🧐33/34
@Techjournalisto @tthompsonfuller @AfpFactual @Knack Did you like this 🧡with #OSINT for #FactChecking?

I have more #SpeurJeMee? 🧐#HowToOSINT, underneath this tweet. πŸ‘‡

And follow me @brechtcastel for upcoming investigations! 34/END

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More from @brechtcastel

28 Sep
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? πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡ 1/..

#OSINT πŸ”Ž
#GeoLocation 🌎
#Verification πŸ“Έ
#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 (πŸ‘‡) and #Bing. 3/...
Read 26 tweets
31 Aug
😎 Cool, not only an unverified πŸ“Έ with shady claims can go viral, but so can a step-by-step #verification of the same πŸ“Έ.😎

Big πŸ™ for all the nice compliments I received.

This thread is a 🎁 for my new followers. Welcome!
πŸ€œπŸ€› [1/19]

In this 🧡 much MORE step-by-step #OSINT tips and tricks and the explanation WHY I write my #FactChecks as if you would do the research yourself. πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡ [2/19]
On this page πŸ‘‡ you can read 100+ of my #FactChecks for πŸ‡§πŸ‡ͺ magazine @Knack.

They are all πŸ†“ (not behind paywall). [3/19]

knack.be/nieuws/auteurs…
Read 19 tweets
28 Aug
This picture was put online in Denmark πŸ‡©πŸ‡°, shared 424K times and viewed by 44M people. 😲

@snopes and @Knack got in contact with this woman for a #FactCheck. How did we find her? πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡1/...

#OSINT πŸ”Ž
#GeoLocation 🌎
#Verification πŸ“Έ
#HowTo #SpeurJeMee?🧐 Image
@snopes @Knack No luck with inverse image search (Google, Yandex, Bing and TinEye) to find the original context.😒

No useful visual clues in the picture (logos, street signs, …) 😒

The road looks American πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ, but we don't have much to start with… 2/... Image
@snopes @Knack If we find the exact location of the picture, we might find the original context which could lead to identifying the woman. This is the reason for #GeoLocation πŸ“. 3/...
Read 28 tweets
12 May
πŸ“’"Jij zal niets bezitten en gelukkig zijn. Wij zullen alles bezitten en nog gelukkiger zijn."

Waar komt deze uitspraak vandaan❓ En waarom maken deze woorden mensen zoπŸ€¬β“

#SpeurJeMee? 🧐

(Met #zoektips voor eigen onderzoek onderweg. πŸ˜‰) 1/...

#FakeNews #OSINT #ViralQuote Image
Op 6 mei plaatst een Nederlandse vrouw een beeldcollage in de Facebookgroep Volk en Victory. Die groep heeft bijna 10.000 leden en is er naar eigen zeggen 'op gericht om de politieke leugens aan de kaak te stellen'. 2/... Image
We zien o.a. de πŸ‡³πŸ‡± politici Mark Rutte, Hugo de Jonge en Ferdinand Grapperhaus. Rechtsonder zien we ook een fotomontage van iemand in een uniform van de nazi-eenheid Schutzstaffel (SS) en van de Nederlandse politie.

Dit 🧡 focust echter op de afbeelding linksonder. 3/... Image
Read 46 tweets
29 Apr
😱 "LeGe ZiEkeNhUiSbEdDeN!" 😱

Het is vaak een argument om de #coronapandemie te minimaliseren of af te doen als een #hoax.

Onderzoek je in dit 🧡mee dit "bewijs"? 🧐

#FakeNews #OSINT #Geolocation #ViralVideo 1/...
BONUS

We kruipen ook een paar keer 'in het hoofd' van een
bonafide journalist πŸ§βœ…
en een
malafide complotdenker πŸ₯Έ ❌

(Tweets met de 'gedachten' van 🧐 en πŸ₯Έ zijn persoonlijk commentaar en vallen dus buiten de strikte #factcheck voor @Knack) 2/...
Op 21 april plaatst de Facebookpagina RT Dutch een video online met als titel 'Salvador: medisch personeel is het zat'.

De video toont een verpleegster die lege ziekenhuisbedden laat zien. Andere verpleegsters zingen in een vreemde taal. 🎢

3/...
Read 43 tweets
27 Apr
Een miljoen mensen zien op TikTok en Facebook hoe de auto van de Franse president #EmmanuelMacron wordt aangevallen in #Montpellier.

Speur je mee naar de waarheid in dit 🧡? 🧐

(Met praktische tips voor eigen #onderzoek onderweg. πŸ˜‰)

#FakeNews #OSINT #Geolocation

1/... Image
Een woedende menigte scandeert 'Macron dΓ©mission': het ontslag van de Franse president Emmanuel Macron wordt geΓ«ist. Zijn de auto wordt ingesloten en aangevallen door een woedende menigte.

Dat wil deze video ons doen geloven: tiktok.com/@ghosteur1/vid… 2/...
De video gaat viraal (meer dan 870.000 views) en duikt ook al snel op op Facebook met nog eens honderduizenden views tot gevolg. 3/...
Read 31 tweets

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