FAQ 2 • Exploring TTG
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200. Why not label “fake” images instead of “real” images?
Because such labels would be ineffective and impractical.
(It might seem wildly unrealistic for disclosure labels to be put on most of the billions of “fake” images generated around the world, yet proposals for a “This is fake” label continue to pop up.)
TTG never uses the terms “fake” or “real” except in quotation marks
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201. Why doesn’t this website have illustrations to show the difference between TTG and non-TTG images?
Because the entire reason that TTG exists is because often there is no visual difference between TTG and non-TTG images.
For the first time in history, there are created every day millions of new images that look just like undoctored photos but are not (see FAQ #114).
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202. Does the answer to #201 mean that two photos can look identical but one could qualify as TTG while the other could not?
Yes. This is relatively easy to do by doctoring or aigmenting a photograph so that it looks like an existing undoctored photograph.
• An example of this would be adding to a photograph an item that had been in the scene when it was previously photographed but is now gone.
• Another common instance would be simulating weather- or sky effects; see this page for more.
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203. But what if someone rephotographed a non-TTG-qualified image and did not alter in any way the resulting photo? Wouldn’t that deceptive-but-unaltered “rephotograph” qualify as TTG?
No, because it couldn’t get past the Trust Test, which explicitly disqualifies such tactics (see the last paragraph of P8).
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204. Is it correct that anybody anywhere can use TTG?
Yes. Anyone anywhere, with any picture-taking device and at any level of proficiency, can compare any of their own photos to the Trust Test at any time and can apply the TTG label to any of their photos that they wish.
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205. So any yahoo can attach the TTG label to any completely unqualified photograph, with no oversight or watchdog to point out that the photo isn’t qualified for the label?
Yes, anyone can do that.
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206. What’s to keep zillions of unqualified photographs on social media from being labeled as TTG?
Nothing at all. The public should expect to see plenty of preposterous social-media photos labeled TTG. But that’s not a problem.
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207. What other platforms have the issues with trustworthiness that social media has?
Any platform where the publisher doesn’t check all of the published material before viewers see it is likely to present trust issues.
The attributes of widely-trusted photo publishers are well-established. Platforms that do not have those attributes are likely to be less trusted.
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208. Exactly why is much of social media not a reliable source for trustworthy photographs?
Because in order to trust a photograph, viewers have to be confident that they can trust any claims being made about the photograph...
. . . but because of how it is structured, much of social media does not consistently give viewers that confidence. More
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209. So is the message that NO photographs on social media should be trusted?
No. With hundreds of millions of photographs being posted on social media every day, obviously millions of those photographs are likely to be considered trustworthy.
(For example, many news organizations that have over decades built a reputation for trustworthiness now have a presence on social media. They are unlikely to risk their reputations by posting untrustworthy material with their name on it anywhere online.)
Instead, the message is to not blindly trust the TTG label when it is found in “social” areas of social media with no corroborating source to give it credibility.
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210. What about photographers who depend on the visibility of social media but who want their TTG-labeled photographs to be trusted?
As noted in #209, there are plenty of photographs on social media that would qualify as TTG, although they may not be easy to identify.
Photographers who are dedicated to TTG can take steps to attract social-media followers who trust them; see FAQ #2501.
It is also easy to establish a parallel presence away from social media — like a monosite — specifically to build credibility with viewers.
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211. TTG seems to encourage photo-contest use of the Trust Test. Will photo contests be a trustworthy resource for seeing excellent TTG-qualified images?
No, most photo contests should not be considered reliable resources for trustworthy images. Why not?
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212. What are “the most-widely trusted photographs in the free world” on whose 9 characteristics the Trust Test is based?
Some categories are listed here.
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213. Does the Trust Test allow any manipulations that news organizations did not allow back in the film era?
Yes, it has to. More and more photos that end up being used in “spot-news” contexts are being taken not by professional photojournalists with standalone cameras but by ordinary citizens with smartphones — devices which perform manipulations that were unavailable in the film era.
More
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214. If millions of new TTG-qualified photos are made every hour, why is there a need for a label like TTG?
Because relatively few of those millions of photos are remarkable enough to cause viewers to ask “Can I trust this photo?”
One could similarly put the “Nonfiction” label on a grocery list, but there would be no particular reason to do so
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215. Are any of the 9 characteristics of the Trust Test more important than others?
No, because all 9 are needed to ensure a trustworthy photograph.
It is easy to find images that are lacking only one of the 9 characteristics and yet are highly untrustworthy.
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216. Is TTG for “news” or for “non-news” photographs?
Both.
News organizations — which depend on trust — can obviously make use of TTG on some level (even if only as background in formulating their internal policies).
But questions like “Is this a real photograph?” (see FAQ #312) so often get asked of “non-news” photographs that TTG can be helpful in many different branches of photography (see #106).
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217. Why would photographers hold “non-news” photographs to reportage-based standards like the Trust Test?
Because viewers do. Viewers don’t magically suspend their curiosity about a remarkable photograph just because it isn’t in a “news” setting. More
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218. But couldn’t there be a less-strict standard created for “non-news” photographs? Something a little more lax than “information-reportage” standards?
It’s conceivable, although making a “softer” standard that is both credible and non-arbitrary would not be easy.
But anyone who wants to create a less-strict standard can put their standard before the public and invite comments. (TTG offers these tips for anyone who wants to try.)
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219. Are selfies eligible for the TTG label?
Yes, as long as they meet all of the requirements of the Trust Test.
Note in particular the smartphone-related specifics enumerated in P2.
Viewers do not need to be alerted that a selfie was posed when the “posed” aspects of the photo are immediately apparent to viewers.
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220. Why is it said that the TTG label can be credibly attached only by the photographer responsible for the photograph?
Because the TTG label is built on the power of reputation. Viewers want to be reassured that their counterpart in the “trust exchange” — that is, the photographer — is indeed putting his or her reputation on the line.
See #1904 and #1905 on who counts as “the photographer” in special situations.
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221. If the photographer is the only person who can credibly attach the TTG label to a photograph, how can someone else publish photographs that have the TTG label?
The third party simply publishes the TTG label along with the name of the photographer who is standing behind that guarantee.
See the list of publishers’ rights and responsibilities for details.
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222. Why is the TTG label called a “Nonfiction” label for photos?
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223. Does the TTG label on a photograph mean the same thing that the “Nonfiction” label means on books?
The term “fiction” means something different in both cases, but in numerous ways the labels are similar.
• Like the “Nonfiction” label, the TTG label is not any kind of official “seal of approval” or statement of “objective facts.”
• Just as the “Nonfiction” label doesn’t mean “Blindly trust this book,” the TTG label doesn’t mean “Blindly trust this photograph.”
More on the “Nonfiction” metaphor
See also “Aren’t all photographs fiction?”
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224. What does the TTG label actually mean on a photograph if it doesn’t mean “Blindly trust this photograph”?
As with the “Nonfiction” label on books, the TTG label on photographs is merely a shorthand way for the creator of a work to stake their reputation on a set of claims being made to the audience. (See also #319)
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225. Should viewers trust a photo if the photographer doesn’t label it as TTG but says they only made “minor” changes to it?
Viewers should be skeptical unless the photographer spells out exactly what “minor” means. More
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226. How does TTG deal with photographs that aren’t “doctored” or “aigmented” but are still deceptive, like a set-up scene that looks spontaneous or a zoo animal that looks like it’s in the wild?
Viewers are alerted to those kinds of potentially deceptive “inapparent circumstances” through the TTG-IC version of the label. (More on this)
Failure to use the TTG-IC label when necessary always disqualifies a photo from TTG (see P8).
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227. Does using the TTG label to signal “trustworthiness” imply that all non-TTG photographs aren’t trustworthy?
No. The TTG label is simply the quickest way to declare when a photo has all nine characteristics of the free world’s most-widely trusted photos.
The TTG label doesn’t suddenly render as “untrustworthy” all photos that do not have all nine characteristics, or all photos that are not labeled. -
228. What about photographers who have no need for TTG?
That is never a problem. Since each person applies the TTG label only to their own photographs — never to anyone else’s — those who have no need for TTG can easily ignore it.
Variations on this theme are discussed in the Photographers’ FAQ
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229. When should viewers disregard the TTG label?
The numbering of the FAQ questions will not change — any new questions are added at the bottom and given new numbers — so users can safely make a link to any specific question.