To combat disinformation and fake news, Google is expanding its “About this image” tool to 40 new languages, including French. This will make it easier for you to check the origin of photos published on the Internet and separate fact from fiction.
As global conflicts become increasingly violent, such as those happening in Ukraine and Gaza, social networks are being invaded by disinformation. Some Internet users do not hesitate to post images taken out of context or several years old in order to “illustrate” the wars currently taking place, brazenly lying about their origin. And that’s without counting the increasingly powerful generative AIs that can create photorealistic shots capable of deceiving more than one person! Suffice to say that with such a context, Google’s latest tool is just in time! Called “About this image”, it aims to provide essential and contextual information on images in Google search, by showing where they have appeared in the past on the Web. A bit like what is already offered for text sources.
Initially unveiled at Google’s I/O developer conference in early 2023, the feature was, until now, only available on the American giant’s search engine and via Google Images. As reported BFMTVit is now available in 40 languages, including French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese and Portuguese.
About this image: How to find the origin of a photo?
The About This Image tool aims to show the user the origins of a photo in order to provide essential context on how it has been described by news sites over time. For example, it indicates the first time the image was indexed by Google Search, as well as the metadata, which can indicate whether the image was generated by artificial intelligence, modified, etc. If it was generated by AI, Filigrane SynthID, developed by Google DeepMind, will also indicate this. The goal is to obtain as much information as possible to assess the veracity and usefulness of the photo via different sources.
This new tool can be used via the Google Lens option – present in the Google search bar – as well as with “Circle to search”, which allows you to circle an element on an image to immediately launch a search. Be careful, not all Android smartphones benefit from this function! To use “About this image” with “Circle to search”:
► When you are in front of an image whose origin you want to check, activate Circle to searchTo do this, long-press the home button or the navigation bar, depending on whether you are in gesture or three-button navigation.
► Circle or tap the image in question
► Google search results appear. Swipe up to see more results and tap the tab About this imagejust below the search bar.
► Image information is then displayed to give you more context.
To use “About this image” with Google Lens:
► In the Google search bar, tap the icon Google Lenswhich takes the form of a camera, to perform a search using an image.
► Select your image from your library and, if necessary, select the item to search for.
► Swipe up to view more results.
► Under the search bar, select the tab About this image.
► A new window then opens, giving you the necessary information if it is available.
