What is real and what is a fake? This question is often asked when looking at social media.
Influencers often put themselves in the spotlight through image processing, camera tricks, filters and advantageous poses.
The profiles of the Instagram stars Imma and Bermuda also give this impression.
The successful influencers have hundreds of thousands of followers in social networks.
But for the “perfect” picture, the social media stars go one step further.
The two influencers are not real people made of flesh and blood.
The deceptively real images of the virtual beauties are created on the computer.
In addition to Imma and Bermuda, there are numerous other successful – more or less convincing – virtual influencers. One of the most famous accounts is Lil Miquela, with more than three million Instagram followers.
Scandals, opinions, hobbies and friendships – the social media posts make it seem like they are real people. And it’s worth it: Because the virtual internet stars sometimes have advertising deals with world-famous brands.
The profiles of the artificial influencers make it clear: Not everything you see on social media is real – and that now also applies to people.
How do we examine videos for manipulation in the editorial office? It is important to take a look at the details. The individual frames of a video often reveal whether a video has been edited. We take a close look at each picture and enlarge individual sections. Indications of a fake are, for example: lack of motion blur, unnatural shadows or cutting errors. At stern, the general rule is: Seriousness over speed. We always double-check facts and material carefully before we publish them. To do this, we work with the cross-editorial “Verification Team” together with RTL, NTV, RTL2, and Radio NRW.