ELI5 How are pictures used in court when it is getting increasingly getting easier to alter them

Great comment. I just wanted to add that when seizing digital images as evidence, they should be 'hashed'. It is the process of running the image through an algorithm to give a complex code. It simulates putting the image into a tamper proof evidence bag. If anything on the image that is submitted to the court is different from the original, even one pixel, you will get a very different hash code.

If a crime scene officer is taking a picture of a murder victim, then once they download the image from the camera, it should be hashed. When they are put on the stand, they give evidence that they took the picture and can reproduce the same hash code as proof the image hasnt been altered. If there is a period of time between taking the picture and hashing it, they need to be prepared to be questioned or cross examined on that.

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