Immigration in NI: Did a local bus company recently drop off a “bus load” of migrants in Lisburn? No.
In a Facebook post on 10 June, the page “Northern Ireland Migrant Watch” claimed that an image they shared depicted a local bus company transporting a group of migrants to Lisburn, Co. Antrim.
Was this the case? No.
The bus company involved put out a statement saying it has a contract to help tourists travel around and see Northern Ireland, adding that it was concerned for its customer’s safety.
The social media post from “Northern Ireland Migrant Watch” was later discussed on BBC Radio Ulster.
This is a good example of how photos shared on social media can be misinterpreted or misleading.
Images don’t need to be complex AI creations to be misunderstood. A lack of background information and/or an image being taken out of context can also amount to mis- or disinformation, either of which adds further poor quality information and distorts people’s understanding of all sorts of issues in society.
For more information – including some ways to check whether photos are being used in a misleading way – read on.
- The image
The image shared in the Facebook group was posted in the wake of recent racist violence in Ballymena and other areas of Northern Ireland.
The poster – “Northern Ireland Migrant Watch” – described this as:
“Another recent drop off in Lisburn of a bus load of migrants. Bus company claiming it’s just tourists.”
So, while they acknowledge the clarification from J&K Coaches (whose own website features adverts for various tourism opportunities available with the company), the post still asserts that this is a “recent drop off … of a bus load of migrants.”
J&K Coaches subsequently issued a statement outlining that they had been engaging in work with tourists to the region and that the Facebook content had been false and discriminatory:
“J&K Coaches is currently providing an approved touring service to a group of international tourists currently enjoying a scheduled tour across the UK & Ireland. They have been enjoying visits to key Northern Ireland attractions…
“We are deeply concerned about comments and an image circulating on social media in relation to our international visitors. This content is both misleading and discriminatory. We are also deeply concerned with the unacceptable language targeted at both our visitors and the company.”
The bus in the photo is parked on Market Street in Lisburn, near the tunnel that leads to the Haslem Hotel in the town. That hotel also posted on social media to say it is “delighted to work with some of the leading international tour coach operators, priding ourselves on providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our guests.”
The Nolan Show also covered the misrepresentation of the company and challenged a caller on the show on this image and how it is fuelling rumours in the region.
- Checking photos
There are all sorts of ways for images to be used online in a misleading way. Not all of them are easy to account for. This, for example, is a real image taken out of context. At FactCheckNI we often see them used out of context (e.g. a different time and/or place) in misleading ways.
In this case, the only real correction occurred when J&K Coaches made their statement. Unfortunately, this does not mean that everyone who saw the original post (or who still might come across it) will see the clarification from the bus company.
However, whenever you see an image online that you are not sure about or which is claiming something you believe to be significant, there are some tools you can use to catch out other forms of mis- and disinformation.
- How to check images online
So, how did we know if what we are looking at is genuine? If you are uncertain of an image you can use Google. On Google’s main search page — Google.com — look for the “Images” link in the upper right corner or go to the Google Images search page directly.
Enter the image URL in the search form, click on the camera icon to upload the image, or just drag an image from another browser tab or a file in a folder. After submitting the image, the results will appear. Click on the image to see related images that Google thinks are similar to the one you have submitted. This can provide useful context of the image.
There are other methods for this;
- At Bing.com, the Images link will bring you to that feature, showing trending images. Clicking on “Visual search” presents a new page with an option to paste an image or its URL. Results include what Bing thinks is text within the image, web pages with the image, and related context.
- TinEye is a dedicated reverse image search tool. In addition to providing a free-to-use tool, TinEye offers commercial products. At its home page you can upload an image or enter its URL. Results are presented in a list of where TinEye found the image. There is an option to sort the list by oldest found occurrence, which can be particularly useful in determining whether an image is as recent as someone claims it to be.
- Chrome browser plugin Google’s web browser product, Chrome, has a built-in feature, whereby you can right-click an image and select the option to reverse search it. The results are presented the same as if you’d manually entered the image’s URL in Google’s Images search page.
- There is a browser plugin that combines all four of the above search services. Reveye is available for Google’s Chrome, Mozilla’s Firefox, and Microsoft’s Edge browsers.
- Think before you share images
At FactCheckNI we encourage everyone to become their own fact checker.
You can do so by asking yourself three simple questions:
- Where’s it from? Check the source of the image – use our guide above.
- What’s missing? Has the image been cropped? Is crucial context missing? Is it from where it says it is?
- How does it make you feel? People wanting to mislead know that emotive imagery and framing will be shared more. If it’s winding you up, stop and think how you could check it before you share.
- Send us anything you’re unsure of.
If you see an image you’re unsure of – get in touch.
