Database of videos exposes the horrors of war in Ukraine
Methodology
A team of reporters at The Washington Post has been monitoring and verifying videos of the war since Feb. 24. To do that, reporters geolocate the video by cross-referencing distinctive landmarks in the footage with reliable source material such as satellite imagery or Google Earth street view. Next, reporters investigate when the video was recorded, checking for metadata and time stamps. Other visuals, official statements, eyewitness testimony and spoken audio provide context that can help corroborate videos. Reporters also review the uploader’s account and try to find the original source for the video. The source links in this database are where reporters discovered the video online, but are not always the original source. Weapons and military equipment can be clues as to what transpired; reporters consult with military experts on that. Some videos in this database were also corroborated by news verification groups such as Storyful or open-source researchers, but all have been independently confirmed by The Post.
Post reporters also screen for fake videos by examining whether there are jump cuts, interrupted audio, or visuals and audio that don’t match. We also run a reverse-image search and look for other posts on the same topic to make sure it is not an old video — perhaps even from a different conflict — that is recirculating.
Verification takes rigorous reporting, fact-checking and collaboration across the newsroom. The Post publishes only verified videos.
Credits
Visual forensics reporting by Sarah Cahlan, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Meg Kelly, Atthar Mirza, Elyse Samuels, Jon Swaine, Razzan Nakhlawi, Jonathan Baran, Joy Sharon Yi, JM Rieger, Jason Aldag, Karly Domb Sadof, Dalton Bennett, Louisa Loveluck, Monica Rodman and Adriana Usero. Design and development by Shikha Subramaniam, Leo Dominguez, Gabriel Florit, Atthar Mirza, Joe Fox and Jason Bernert. Graphics by Dylan Moriarty. Writing by Elyse Samuels, Ruby Mellen, Sarah Cahlan and Meg Kelly.
Editing by Matt Callahan, Reem Akkad, Nadine Ajaka and Ann Gerhart. Copy editing by Vanessa Larson.
