Fact-Checking and Evidence

Image Provenance Log

Record an image's origin, creator, rights, depicted context, edits, caption evidence, consent, accessibility treatment, and permission to publish.

Free editable Markdown · Photo editors, content teams, and rights managers · Updated July 30, 2026

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The downloaded file contains the same fields in editable Markdown.

Asset identity and origin

Asset ID and filename: [Enter]
File received from: [Name, role, date]
Earliest traceable source: [URL, archive, or contact]
Claimed creator: [Enter or Unknown]
Original file reference: [Location/checksum]
Dimensions and format: [Enter]
Creation date and place: [Verified / Claimed / Unknown]
Reverse-search or metadata findings: [Summarize as clues]

Factual context

What is visibly depicted: [Describe without inference]
People or organizations identified: [Evidence for each]
Event and date claim: [Evidence]
Location claim: [Evidence]
Caption statement: [Draft exact wording]
Uncertainty or disputed context: [State]
Verifier and date: [Name, YYYY-MM-DD]

Rights, consent, and edits

Copyright owner or licensor: [Enter]
License or permission evidence: [Reference and version]
Permitted use, duration, and territory: [Enter]
Required credit: [Exact text]
Model, property, or subject consent: [Status/reference]
Restrictions: [Modification, advertising, sensitive use, other]
Edits performed: [Crop, composite, generative edit, color, labels]
Meaning changed by edit: [Yes / No / Review and why]

Publication approval

Approver and date: [Name, YYYY-MM-DD]
Approved channels: [List]
Reuse or expiry trigger: [Enter]

Published file matches the approved asset version.
Caption claims are verified and appropriately qualified.
Credit and license conditions are satisfied.
Required consent and sensitive-context review are complete.
Alternative text reflects the image's purpose without unsupported claims.

How to use this template

Preserve and identify the received file, supplier, earliest traceable source, and original version.
Verify depicted people, place, date, event, and caption claims with appropriate evidence.
Record copyright, license, consent, credit, editing, and distribution conditions separately.
Review every transformation for factual, ethical, rights, and accessibility consequences.
Approve the exact publication asset and schedule any permission or context recheck.

Trace the asset before interpreting it

Start with the file received, who supplied it, and where they obtained it. Preserve an unedited reference copy and record its filename, dimensions, date received, and a stable checksum or asset-system ID when available. Search for earlier appearances, request the original from the creator, and inspect metadata as clues while recognizing that metadata can be absent, altered, or misleading. Identify what the image actually depicts, when and where it was created, and which parts remain uncertain. A correctly attributed photograph can still be misleading if a current caption places it in a different event or implies a fact outside the frame.

Separate factual verification from rights clearance

The person who owns copyright may differ from the subject, uploader, employer, agency, or commissioning organization. Record the creator, licensor, license version, permitted media, territory, duration, modification terms, credit line, and any payment or usage restrictions. Check whether recognizable people, private property, artwork, logos, or sensitive situations require additional review or consent. Public availability does not mean free reuse, and an AI-generated or edited asset does not automatically avoid rights questions. Route uncertainty to a qualified rights owner rather than converting “source unknown” into approval.

Document edits and publication meaning

List cropping, color correction, compositing, retouching, background removal, generative fill, labels, or other transformations. Explain whether an edit changes what a reasonable reader could infer. The caption should state verified facts, preserve important limitations, and avoid identifying people or locations without support. Write alternative text for the image's function in this specific context; it is not a second caption or a place to repeat unverified interpretation. Before release, ensure the published file, caption, credit, alt text, and permission record all refer to the same version, then set a reuse and expiry rule.

See the fields in context

Fictional example: community garden photograph

Greenfield Garden and every person, record, and permission below are invented for demonstration.

Origin: A fictional photographer supplied the original file and dated contact sheet, not merely a reposted social image.
Context: The image shows volunteers planting in an imaginary garden on May 10; it does not demonstrate the garden's annual harvest.
Rights: A fictional one-year web license permits cropping but requires the photographer's exact credit.
Edit: The publication crop removes an empty border but does not add or remove depicted activity.
Approval: Caption, credit, alt text, and approved crop are linked to asset version IMG-04.

Frequently asked questions

Does image metadata prove when and where a photo was taken?

No. Metadata can be useful evidence, but it may be removed, edited, inherited, or set incorrectly. Corroborate important context.

Can an image found through search be reused?

Search visibility does not grant permission. Trace the owner and applicable license or obtain authorization for the intended use.

Should every edit be disclosed publicly?

Disclosure depends on whether the edit is material to meaning, the context, and editorial policy. The internal record should still preserve all transformations.

What if the subject's identity cannot be verified?

Do not name the person. Narrow the caption, seek stronger evidence, or choose another image when identity is material.