By the end of this talk, there will be 864 more hours of video on YouTube and 2.5 million more photos on Facebook and Instagram. So how do we sort through the deluge? At the TEDSalon in London, Markham Nolan shares the investigative techniques he and his team use to verify information in real-time, to let you know if that Statue of Liberty image has been doctored or if that video leaked from Syria is legitimate.

How to separate fact and fiction online

The flood of online images and video means information now spreads faster than even natural disasters themselves. During Hurricane Sandy, journalists faced thousands of photos and videos every second, many of them fake or recycled. Verifying what is real demands a new set of investigative skills and digital tools, but ultimately, it is human judgment that separates fact from fiction. Truth remains a uniquely human pursuit, even in a world overflowing with data.