“A source the viewer doesn’t mistrust”
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1901. What is the purpose of P9?
P9 helps the viewer apply Characteristic #9 of trusted photographs by ensuring that viewers of a TTG-labeled photograph know who is responsible for the photograph.
The “human element” of trust cannot be underestimated: the Trust Test is meaningless if the viewer does not trust the person who attaches the TTG label.
That’s why the TTG label is really about trusting the photographer, not merely trusting the photograph.
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1902. But P9 doesn’t really “check” for the presence of the ninth characteristic the way P1 through P8 each checks for the presence of its own characteristic, correct?
That is correct (P9 is here). There is no way to “check” whether the photographer who attached the TTG label is someone that that viewer “doesn’t mistrust.”
That’s why P9 only requires identifying the photographer who is making the TTG Guarantee: so that viewers can decide for themselves.
P9 is called the “handoff” requirement of the Trust Test. After everything trust-related about the photograph that can be checked has been checked, the issue of trust is handed over to the viewer.
P9 is where the photographer says to the viewer, “I’ve given you all of the information I can; now it’s up to you to decide whether you trust my claims.”
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1903. What counts as “the name of the photographer” in P9?
Anything the photographer chooses. The photographer can use whatever name they want for themselves, including their real name, their nickname, their self-chosen (“pen”) name, their UOI, or the URL of their personal website.
See also the guide page on labeling.
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1904. Who is considered “the photographer” when multiple people are responsible for the creation of a photograph that is labeled TTG?
In those cases, it is up to the creators of the photograph to decide whether all of them, some of them, or just one of them should stake their reputation on the guarantee.
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1905. Who is considered “the photographer” when no human pushed the shutter button the instant the photograph was recorded?
(Examples include things like interval timers that periodically trip the shutter, photographs made by surveillance cameras, shutters tripped by wildlife, or even the famous monkey selfie.)
Typically the person whose involvement was most important in the photo being taken (and/or the person without whose involvement the photo would not have happened) would be the person best suited to making the guarantee.
Things like surveillance cameras and wildlife cameras don’t just spring up out of nature; actual humans place them there, set them up, and select the best images from the results.
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1906. Characteristic #9 says “a source the viewer doesn’t mistrust,” but the drop-down requirements under P9 only refer to the photographer. What about the context in which the photograph is published?
Characteristic #9 | P9
There is no question that the context in which a photograph is published can play a pivotal role in the level of viewer trust.
But of course there’s no way a photographer can make any guarantees about how trustworthy the viewer will regard the context where the photograph is published.
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1907. What if the viewer trusts the photographer but not the context?
Most people trust anything only as much as they trust the weakest component in the “trust chain.”
Thus with regard to question #1907, most people would not trust the photograph if they did not trust the context (in part because an untrustworthy context could name-fake the photographer).
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1908. What if a TTG-labeled photograph comes from a country where the government is known for controlling what citizens can say?
It may often depend on the subject of the specific photograph, but for many viewers in places with more freedom of speech, that country may not represent (to use the language of P9) “a source the viewer doesn’t mistrust”—
— and those viewers might disregard the photograph for that reason.
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.