This page is an entry in the Key.

context

The setting in which viewers see a photograph.

The “context” is extremely important to a photograph’s credibility.

  • 1. Who judges how trustworthy a context is?

    It’s always up to the viewer to judge the trustworthiness of the various contexts in which photographs are put before the public.

    No one else can declare which contexts are most trustworthy to a particular viewer.

    If you say to yourself about a particular context, “I wouldn’t trust the TTG label there,” then you have just described what is to you “a less-than-trustworthy context.”

  • 2. Why is the context important?

    Because viewers will only trust the TTG label when they are convinced that the photographer’s reputation is truly at stake on the Guarantee that the photographer is making.

    In other words, viewers need to feel confident that that the context lends itself to holding the photographer accountable for the 9 claims in the Trust Test.

  • 3. Why isn’t social media a reliably credible context for TTG?

    That is explained in #2 above and discussed here.

    (See also the last paragraph of #1 above)

  • 4. What are the most consistently trustworthy contexts?

    It is impossible to make a list of “trustworthy” sources or contexts, because such designations can become obsolete overnight with just one major misstep.

    A big consideration: Has the content been checked by the publisher?

    As per #1 above, what matters to each viewer is which contexts they personally trust, not claims that others may make.

  • 5. How does a provider become “a trustworthy context”?

    Any provider can declare a commitment to being trustworthy, starting with a clean slate, embracing attributes of trusted providers, and inviting its audience to hold it accountable.

    Vigilance is key, because any particular context is only as trustworthy as its least trustworthy misstep.

    It doesn’t take much for viewers to write off a particular context permanently.

  • 6. What if viewers trust 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 #6, 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).

    Members of the public will become increasingly aware of “which kinds of platforms, which specific websites, and sometimes even which photographers viewers feel they can or cannot trust.” —From #20{7}