Satellite Images and Shadow Analysis: How The Times Verifies Eyewitness Videos

I am wary when videos show up right after the event, especially when it is a cell phone video and you cannot see how the incident began and what happened - from all angles. Part of Journalism is taking the time to make sure that what is presented to the public has been verified. The whole Michael Brown tragedy could have been prevented if the Media had carried out due diligence.

Thanks for this! Very interesting. I just heard an interview here on Irish radio (NewsTalk) with Malachi Brown (? I think) of your video department. (He's Irish!). Anyone reading this who is interested in more, they mentioned that the interview is available on their podcast. I think it's worth a listen to supplement this article. Articles like this make me say, as I tweeted last week: "THIS is why I don't mind paying my subscription fee to the New York Times!" We often discuss "how did they do that?" when we're chatting about interesting articles that clearly involve a great deal of leg work! Susan Waterville, Ireland @todayinireland

Thank you for your hard work and for publishing this fascinating “behind the scenes” article on the chemical attack. Few people understand how dedicated the real news organizations are to finding and reporting the truth. How can we inspire more people to actively search for the truth, and believe in reputable news sources like NYTimes?

Thank you for this article. I hope you run more on the “computer-generated media”, and the Times’ cost and hours spent validating or at least seeking the truth. I would and will support possible requests for more support in the form of costlier subscription fees if and as that becomes necessary.

The yellow gas tank supposedly the source of poison gas looks like it was placed there after the fact. Are we supposed to believe that the tank made that punched through hole in the floor?

Fascinating analysis. Turn off the sound when playing the newspaper's videos. Ask yourself if all the important information is available without sound. If not, use automated captioning from Google or other advanced speech recognition tools that can automatically sync to video frames. The AI frame syncing saves a lot if time. Maybe have a video editor clean up remaining speech recognition errors. Captioning makes videos useful to people who either do not understand oral English accents or have hearing problems. Identify the source of the captioning software at the beginning of the video.

Thank you for the due diligence. George Orwell spoke of propaganda in the Spanish Civil War, and carried the theme into other works throughout his life. Charlie Chaplin speaks clearer truths from his grave than our elected officials. And other artists now carry their light: J. Michael Straczynski masterfully wove lies and deception into his plots. I wish that I could link to a vidclip from a "Babylon 5" episode where the characters lament the death of the truth in a nascent war. The fictional "ISN" news network comes back on the air with a new host who spins fake news into the truth. Even in the year 2260, there is uncertainty as to what is true. Visionaries have been warning us for generations, and now my dear New York Times, it is you who hold the line. Science fiction has become science fact.

Thank you for this article. As the technology of visual deception advances, it is an exceptionally critical time for us to collectively appreciate and support the work (and expense) that goes into producing accurate and reliable news.