OSINT Pulse: March 2026 I When everything starts looking fake

Hyderabad: March was not an easy month for verification work. A large share of what we dealt with was linked to the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States, and much of it leaned heavily on AI-generated content.

What made things harder was not just the volume, but the confusion it created.

Fake satellite images, AI-generated videos and edited clips were circulating alongside real footage. At times, it felt like everything was being treated with the same level of suspicion. Clearly manipulated content was being shared as fact, while authentic visuals were dismissed just as quickly.

Confusion behind the ‘real’ Benjamin Netanyahu

A video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was widely dismissed as AI-generated because users believed he had ‘six fingers.’ Fact-checks showed this was just a visual illusion, but that did little to stop the claim from spreading.

At the same time, Grok repeatedly responded to queries about the video by stating that it was AI-generated, spiking the confusion rather than resolving it. Netanyahu went on to release multiple videos to confirm he was alive, and even that was not enough to convince sections of social media.

This is where things start to get messy. It is no longer just about identifying what is fake. It is also about dealing with a growing tendency to call everything fake. In that process, misinformation and overcorrection end up coexisting.

The conflict was also used to push AI-generated content targeting India. One example was a viral video claiming that Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi admitted India had shared the location of an Iranian naval vessel with Israel. The video turned out to be a deepfake.

What are social media platforms doing?

Platforms are beginning to respond, at least on paper.

X recently said it would suspend creators from its revenue-sharing programme for posting AI-generated war content without disclosure. But in practice, the feeds we monitor are still full of the same kind of content.

World Imagery Wayback: Understanding what it actually shows

When looking for ways to go beyond the historical imagery available on Google Earth Pro, World Imagery Wayback often comes up as an alternative. It is easy to assume that it offers a similar, or even more detailed, timeline of satellite imagery. In practice, it works quite differently. Since it comes up often in OSINT discussions, it is worth unpacking how it actually works.

Wayback does not function as an archive of all available satellite captures. Instead, it stores versions of Esri’s World Imagery basemap. Each version reflects how the map was updated at a given point in time. This also explains why even in data-rich locations like New York, the number of available versions per year is limited. In regions such as Kerala, the updates can be even less frequent.

At the same time, Wayback displays precise capture dates when you click on a location. This can seem inconsistent at first. The distinction is that the version date refers to when the basemap was updated, while the capture date refers to the specific satellite image used for that location. A recent version of the map may therefore include imagery captured several years earlier, and different areas within the same view may correspond to different dates.

Compared to Google Earth Pro, which presents a clearer sequence of imagery captures, Wayback reflects how a published map evolves. It is most useful when you want to identify the source and capture date of imagery or understand what was included in a particular version of the map, rather than for building a detailed visual timeline.

Story Saver tools: Dealing with disappearing content

While working with Instagram content, one limitation that keeps coming up is the nature of Stories. They disappear after 24 hours, unless saved by the user, which makes verification difficult if you come across a claim late or if you want to use it as evidence in your investigation.

This is where tools like StorySaver.net come in. They allow you to view and download publicly available Instagram Stories without logging in. In simple terms, they help you capture content that is otherwise temporary.

The use case is fairly straightforward. If a viral claim is based on a Story or if a public account posts something and deletes it later, these tools can help preserve that content for verification. This is especially relevant because a lot of misinformation now circulates through short-lived formats rather than permanent posts.

At the same time, it is important to understand the limitations. These tools only work for public accounts and do not bypass privacy settings. They are also dependent on timing. If the Story has already disappeared and was not captured earlier, the tool cannot retrieve it.

Another limitation is that the downloaded Story does not retain the username within the frame. For documentation purposes, it is better to take a screenshot while the Story is live to establish who posted it.

While downloading video Stories with added Instagram music, I also noticed that the audio was missing in the downloaded file. If you need to retain the original audio, tools like the ESUIT Instagram content downloader extension work better in such cases.

WhatsMyName: Tracing usernames across platforms

When working with online investigations, one common starting point is a username. Many users tend to reuse the same handle across platforms, which makes it a useful entry point for mapping their digital presence.

This is where WhatsMyName becomes relevant.

WhatsMyName allows you to input a username and check where it exists across hundreds of websites, including social media platforms, forums and developer communities. It works by testing profile URLs and identifying whether a username is present on a given site, returning links where matches are found.

Here too, the use case is straightforward. If you are investigating an account and have a known username, the tool can help you identify other platforms where the same handle is used. This can be useful for:

- Finding linked profiles

- Identifying older or less active accounts

- Understanding how a person presents themselves across platforms

At the same time, the results need to be interpreted carefully. A matching username does not automatically mean it belongs to the same individual. Usernames are not unique across the internet, and false positives are common.

Another limitation is that the tool only works with publicly accessible data. It cannot access private accounts or deleted profiles. It also depends on how consistently a person uses the same handle across platforms.

That’s all for March’s OSINT Pulse.

See you next month!

Dheeshma Puzhakkal

(OSINT Pulse is a monthly report by Dheeshma Puzhakkal, Editor of NewsMeter’s Fact Check team. The column tracks emerging developments in OSINT and AI, with a focus on what matters to Indian readers and OSINT professionals. For comments, insights, or leads, write to dheeshma.p@newsmeter.in. NewsMeter has no financial relationship with any of the companies or tools mentioned in this series.)