FAQ 2 - Exploring TTG

  • 201. Before diving in . . .

    . . . 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).

  • 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.

  • 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 P8 of the Trust Test, which explicitly disqualifies such tactics (see the last paragraph of P8).

  • 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.

  • 205. So any yahoo can attach the TTG label to any completely unqualified photograph, with no organizational or institutional oversight to point out that the photo isn’t qualified for the label?

    Yes, anyone can do that (see the bottom box on this page).

    It’s the same for the TTG label as it is with the “Nonfiction” label on books: any “yahoo” can publish a book spouting any nonsense they want, calling it “Nonfiction,” and there’s no one to stop them from doing so.

    Image providing organizations are always in control of the images they publish, so they have multiple options when a submitted photo appears to have been inappropriately labeled TTG.

  • 206. What’s to keep zillions 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. As it says in Welcome FAQ #6, any misuse of the TTG label that prompts viewers to say, “That is a place where I would not trust the TTG label” only advances TTG's goal of helping the public evaluate image sources.

    In years to come, members of the the public will become aware of which kinds of platforms, which specific websites, and sometimes even which photographers viewers feel they can or cannot trust.

  • 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 trusted image providers are well-established. Platforms that do not have those attributes are likely to be less trustworthy.

  • 208. Why exactly is so 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.

  • 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 many millions of those photographs will be plenty trustworthy.

    Instead, the message is to not blindly trust the TTG label in instances when it is found only in “social” areas of social media, with no corroborating source to give it credibility.

    More

  • 210.What if I want viewers to trust my TTG-labeled photographs but I also depend on the visibility of social media?

    Image creators who are concerned about the public’s “trust” issues with social media can easily establish a parallel presence away from social media (like their own monosite).

    Without much effort, an outside website can provide ways of reassuring viewers that social media alone is unlikely to provide.

  • 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?

  • 212. What are “the most-widely trusted photographs in the free world” on whose 9 characteristics the Trust Test is based?

    Some examples are listed here.

  • 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.

    More

  • 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?”

    You could also put the “Nonfiction” label on a grocery list, but there would be no particular reason to do so

  • 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.

  • 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).

  • 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

  • 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 (here are some tips, for anyone who wants to try).

  • 219. Are selfies eligible for the TTG label?

    Not if they are taken with the self-facing camera, because millions of smartphones’ self-facing cameras instantly perform “enhancements” that disqualify the photograph from P2.

    See #1205 for more on this

  • 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 the largest “stakeholder” in the “trust exchange” — that is, the photographer — is indeed putting their reputation on the line.

    See #1904 and #1905 on who counts as “the photographer.”

  • 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 Guide to Publishing TTG Photographs for details.

  • 222. Why is the TTG label called a “Nonfiction” label for photographs?

    Because it was modeled on the “Nonfiction” label for books.

  • 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.”

    See also “Aren’t all photographs fiction?”

  • 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 his or her reputation on claims being made to the audience.

    For creators of photographs, those claims are the 9 requirements of the Trust Test.

  • 225. What if the photographer doesn’t label a photograph as TTG but says they only made “minor” changes to the photograph?

    Viewers should be skeptical unless the photographer spells out exactly what “minor” includes.

    Things that the photographer wants to call “minor” could be things that the viewer might consider “major” if the viewer knew about them.

    The advantage of the TTG label     is that with 3 letters it summarizes the things that are spelled out in detail on pages and pages of this website.

    That saves photographers the need to spell out those things with each photo they put before the public, and it saves viewers from having to decipher what each photographer personally defines as “minor” changes.

    When it comes to actions that disqualify photos from the Trust Test, TTG doesn’t distinguish between “minor” and “major” manipulations.

  • 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?

    For a photo to meet P8, viewers must be alerted to those kinds of potentially deceptive “inapparent circumstances” through an “IC” alert.

  • 227. Does using the TTG label to signal “trustworthiness” imply that all non-TTG-qualified 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 photographs.

    The TTG label doesn’t suddenly render as “untrustworthy” all photos that don’t have all nine characteristics.

  • 228. What about photographers who have no need for the TTG label?

    That is never a problem. The TTG label is applied only to one's own photographs — never to anyone else's — so those who have no need for TTG can easily ignore it.

    Variations on this theme are discussed in the Photographers’ FAQ

  • 229. When should viewers disregard the TTG label?

    Surprisingly often.

  • 230. Why did it take more than two decades to develop TTG?

    (This is a reference to #5 on the About page.)

    Because there were quite a few “photography-of-the-future” challenges that needed resolving, as published discussions could not be found for many of the subjects addressed on the 500+ pages of this website.

    There were also the “external” realities of how much the world of communication changed between 2000 and 2020 while the digital photography world moved from childhood to maturity in those 20 years.

 

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