Misinformation Investigation Toolbox

Introduction

This toolbox offers a selection of tools and resources that you might find useful for monitoring and identifying misinformation during the project. Each tool has been chosen to support different aspects of your work, whether you’re mapping networks of misinformation, verifying images, or tracking disinformation across social media platforms.

Feel free to explore the tools by category and decide which ones work best for your approach. These tools are here to assist you, but how you use them is entirely up to you. Whether you’re diving deep into investigations or contributing through occasional checks, we hope you’ll find something that helps!

Network Mapping/Data Collection

  • Maltego

    • Description: Maltego is a powerful OSINT and graphical link analysis tool used for network mapping and data mining. It allows you to discover relationships between people, social media profiles, companies, domains, and more by visualising connections between datasets.
    • Use for this Project: You can use Maltego to map out networks of accounts, websites, or entities spreading misinformation. By visualising these relationships, you’ll be able to trace how misinformation spreads, potentially identifying the sources or key distributors of false content.
    • How to Sign Up: To use Maltego, you can sign up for a free Community Edition account on their website. This version includes basic functionalities suitable for this project, though there are also paid plans with additional features if you wish to explore more advanced capabilities.

    Link to Maltego Community Edition

  • Hunchly

    • Description: Hunchly is a web capture tool designed to help investigators automatically save and organize online investigations. It records web pages as you browse, allowing you to track your online research, preserving evidence for future reference.
    • Use for this Project: You can use Hunchly to document your online search for misinformation as you navigate social media or other web platforms. This tool will help you preserve important web pages that may be altered or deleted, ensuring you have accurate records of your findings.
    • How to Sign Up: Hunchly offers a 30-day free trial, after which a paid subscription is required. You can download the tool and sign up directly on their website.

    Link to Hunchly

Image Analysis

  • Metadata2Go

    • Description: Metadata2Go is an online tool that extracts metadata from various file types, including images. Metadata includes details such as the date, time, and location where an image was captured, as well as information about the device used to create the file.
    • Use for this Project: You can use Metadata2Go to analyze the metadata of images you come across during your investigation. This can help you verify the origin and authenticity of visual content by checking if the metadata matches the context in which the image is being used. It’s especially useful for spotting manipulated or misleading images that may have false metadata.
    • How to Access: Simply upload an image to the website, and the tool will extract and display the metadata. No sign-up is required.

    Link to Metadata2Go

  • InVID Verification Plugin

    • Description: The InVID Verification Plugin is a powerful browser extension designed to help users verify the authenticity of videos and images. It provides tools for extracting keyframes from videos, reverse image searching, and analyzing content for tampering. It is widely used by journalists and researchers to verify media circulating online.
    • Use for this Project: You might find InVID useful for verifying videos and images related to the Queensland state election. If you encounter visual content that seems suspicious, this tool can help you break down the content into keyframes, reverse search images, and check for possible manipulation, ensuring your findings are credible.
    • How to Access: The plugin is free to download and can be added to your browser (Chrome or Firefox). You can find it on the InVID website, along with detailed instructions on how to use its features.

    Link to InVID Verification Plugin

Website Analysis

  • PublicWWW

    • Description: PublicWWW is a search engine that allows you to search the source code of websites. By searching for specific code snippets, keywords, or other embedded content (like tracking codes or scripts), PublicWWW helps uncover relationships between websites or find sites using the same technologies.
    • Use for this Project: You can use PublicWWW to investigate websites that are spreading misinformation by examining their source code. This might help you identify connections between websites, such as shared tracking codes or common plugins, which can reveal a network of sites disseminating similar misinformation narratives.
    • How to Access: PublicWWW offers a free version with limited searches, as well as paid plans for more advanced capabilities. You can access the tool directly on their website.

    Link to PublicWWW

  • OpenLinkProfiler

    • Description: OpenLinkProfiler is a free backlink analysis tool that allows you to explore the backlinks pointing to any website. It provides detailed reports on which sites are linking to a particular domain, helping users assess the credibility and reach of a website.
    • Use for this Project: While monitoring social media for misinformation, you might come across websites linked in posts that appear to spread false information. You can use OpenLinkProfiler to investigate the backlink profile of these websites which can help you identify networks of sites spreading similar misinformation narratives across social media and the web.
    • How to Access: OpenLinkProfiler is free to use. Simply enter a website’s domain into the search bar to begin exploring its backlink profile.
      Link to OpenLinkProfiler

    Link to OpenLinkProfiler

  • SecurityTrails

    • Description: SecurityTrails is a comprehensive tool for gathering information on domains, IP addresses, and DNS records. It provides insights into a website’s infrastructure, including hosting details and historical DNS data, making it useful for tracking changes or identifying where a website is hosted.
    • Use for this Project: While monitoring social media for misinformation, you might encounter links to suspicious websites. You can use SecurityTrails to investigate the domain or IP address of these websites. For example, if a website spreading election-related misinformation comes up, SecurityTrails can help you find out where the site is hosted and if it has changed locations recently, which might indicate attempts to evade detection.
    • How to Access: SecurityTrails offers both free and paid plans. You can use the free version for basic queries, including domain and IP lookup.

    Link to SecurityTrails

  • Wayback Machine

    • Description: The Wayback Machine, part of Archive.org, is a digital archive that stores snapshots of websites over time. It allows users to see previous versions of websites, making it possible to track changes or access content that has been altered or removed.
    • Use for this Project: If you come across a website linked on social media that is spreading misinformation, you can use the Wayback Machine to see how the site has changed over time. For example, if a website has altered its content after being called out for misinformation, you can retrieve and compare earlier versions of the site to expose the changes.
    • How to Access: The Wayback Machine is free to use and doesn’t require an account. Simply enter the URL of the website you want to investigate, and you’ll be able to view archived snapshots.

    Link to Wayback Machine

  • IntelX

    • Description: IntelX is an all-in-one OSINT toolkit that provides a range of search and investigation tools for domains, IP addresses, leaked data, and more. It allows users to gather information from various sources, including dark web data, archived content, and online profiles, making it a versatile tool for online investigations.
    • Use for this Project: You can use IntelX to investigate domains or IP addresses linked in social media posts that appear suspicious. For example, if a domain associated with misinformation is shared on social media, you can use IntelX to gather comprehensive data about the site, including any related breaches or hidden information, helping you build a clearer picture of how disinformation spreads.
    • How to Access: IntelX offers free tools with limited queries, while more advanced searches and features are available through a paid plan.

    Link to IntelX

Browser Extensions

  • CrowdTangle Link Checker

    • Description: The CrowdTangle Link Checker is a browser extension that allows you to see how often a particular URL has been shared across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit. It provides insights into the spread and engagement of specific links on social media, helping users track viral content.
    • Use for this Project: You can use the CrowdTangle Link Checker to quickly analyze how misinformation is spreading on social media. For example, if you encounter a suspicious link on social media, this extension will show you how often and where it has been shared, helping you gauge its reach and potential impact.
    • How to Access: The extension is available for free on the Chrome Web Store. Simply install it in your browser, and you’ll be able to use it to check the spread of any URL you come across.

    Link to CrowdTangle Link Checker

  • RevEye Reverse Image Search

    • Description: RevEye is a browser extension that allows you to perform a reverse image search across multiple search engines, including Google, Bing, Yandex, and TinEye, directly from your browser. This makes it easier to track down the origin of images and verify their authenticity.
    • Use for this Project: You can use RevEye to verify images that you encounter on social media. For example, if an image is being used in misleading or manipulated content related to the election, RevEye lets you search across multiple platforms to find its original source and check for any prior uses that contradict its current context.
    • How to Access: RevEye is available for free on the Chrome Web Store. Install the extension and right-click on any image to start a reverse image search.

    Link to RevEye

OSINT Guides