0:00:00.480,0:00:02.450 - What does this logo look like to you? 0:00:02.450,0:00:04.980 It might not look like[br]much at first glance 0:00:04.980,0:00:08.123 but it did cause quite a stir online. 0:00:09.800,0:00:11.720 This logo was found on the side of 0:00:11.720,0:00:14.570 a mobile COVID-19 testing truck. 0:00:14.570,0:00:17.610 The photo is real and so is the logo. 0:00:17.610,0:00:19.550 A viral post on Facebook claim that 0:00:19.550,0:00:23.180 this logo represents Anubis,[br]the ancient Egyptian God 0:00:23.180,0:00:25.193 of death and the afterlife. 0:00:26.210,0:00:29.890 The rumors circulated[br]among groups tied to QAnon, 0:00:29.890,0:00:32.710 the once fringe conspiracy[br]theory that has made its way 0:00:32.710,0:00:34.171 into the mainstream. 0:00:34.171,0:00:36.830 QAnon members said the logo revealed 0:00:36.830,0:00:39.730 a deep state plot against Americans. 0:00:39.730,0:00:43.110 They shared fears that[br]these testing trucks 0:00:43.110,0:00:45.750 were up to something nefarious. 0:00:45.750,0:00:48.940 - Of course it turns out the[br]logo is actually an aardvark. 0:00:48.940,0:00:50.040 - An aardvark? 0:00:50.040,0:00:51.040 - Yes, an aardvark, 0:00:51.040,0:00:55.990 which I learned is an African[br]mammal who is nocturnal 0:00:55.990,0:00:57.350 and feeds largely on bugs. 0:00:57.350,0:00:59.770 - Sarah Spencer, a journalist[br]with factcheck.org, 0:00:59.770,0:01:01.600 ventured down the virtual rabbit hole 0:01:01.600,0:01:03.450 to figure out where this logo came from 0:01:03.450,0:01:07.260 and how it ended up linked[br]to an Egyptian death deity. 0:01:07.260,0:01:08.970 - [Sarah] We initially were presented 0:01:08.970,0:01:11.940 with this meme on Facebook. 0:01:11.940,0:01:13.273 Why does COVID-19 testing[br]facility have a logo 0:01:13.273,0:01:15.000 of Anubis, the God of death? 0:01:15.000,0:01:18.120 The first step would be to do just 0:01:18.120,0:01:20.900 a basic reverse image search. 0:01:20.900,0:01:22.390 It can kind of give you[br]a starting off point 0:01:22.390,0:01:25.300 and give you a sense of maybe[br]how widespread something is. 0:01:25.300,0:01:28.010 You can see obviously where[br]the person who put together 0:01:28.010,0:01:30.810 this meme shows to select in red, 0:01:30.810,0:01:32.930 indicating what they think[br]is interesting about it. 0:01:32.930,0:01:35.870 That will often skew an image search 0:01:35.870,0:01:38.640 but you can also click and download 0:01:38.640,0:01:43.140 and then put it into any[br]photo editing software. 0:01:43.140,0:01:47.150 In a picture like this, I[br]would crop it like that, 0:01:47.150,0:01:49.140 so that you get part of an actual picture. 0:01:49.140,0:01:50.640 Then you can plug that picture 0:01:50.640,0:01:54.890 into your standard reverse image search. 0:01:54.890,0:01:59.360 Here in TinEye you can[br]select your cropped version. 0:01:59.360,0:02:00.930 In TinEye, unlike in Google, 0:02:00.930,0:02:03.890 you can sort by newest to oldest. 0:02:03.890,0:02:06.450 So in this case, it was used in 0:02:06.450,0:02:08.870 a Philadelphia business journal story 0:02:08.870,0:02:12.360 about this area business[br]that gad started retooling 0:02:12.360,0:02:13.850 its trucks to be used 0:02:13.850,0:02:16.330 as mobile testing units during COVID-19. 0:02:16.330,0:02:21.330 They identify the name of the[br]company as Aardvark Mobile. 0:02:21.400,0:02:24.730 So then just a simple, very[br]simple internet search, 0:02:24.730,0:02:26.580 a pretty obvious first result 0:02:26.580,0:02:30.210 is the Aardvark Mobile Tours website 0:02:30.210,0:02:34.100 that shares the same logo[br]that you see on the truck. 0:02:34.100,0:02:36.668 You see they have a[br]mobile health care unit. 0:02:36.668,0:02:37.501 - [Hari] Oh, that looks pretty close. 0:02:37.501,0:02:40.160 - [Sarah] Very similar setup,[br]yeah, very similar setup. 0:02:40.160,0:02:41.670 One thing that TinEye is really good at 0:02:41.670,0:02:45.560 is finding where images first[br]started showing up online. 0:02:45.560,0:02:48.220 One of its first iterations showed up 0:02:48.220,0:02:52.810 on 8Kun, which is a message[br]board that often is home 0:02:52.810,0:02:55.230 to conspiracy theorists threads. 0:02:55.230,0:02:57.600 It's where a lot of[br]conspiracy theories develop 0:02:57.600,0:02:59.520 and then bubble up before[br]they start showing up 0:02:59.520,0:03:00.850 on Facebook and Twitter. 0:03:00.850,0:03:02.920 - So your tip to a general reader, 0:03:02.920,0:03:07.920 if they see an image that[br]makes these kinds of claims, 0:03:08.330,0:03:09.710 what's the first thing they should have 0:03:09.710,0:03:10.590 in the back of their mind? 0:03:10.590,0:03:12.360 And then what's the first[br]thing they should do? 0:03:12.360,0:03:14.560 - If you're scrolling[br]through your social media, 0:03:14.560,0:03:16.930 you see something that[br]really speaks to you 0:03:16.930,0:03:20.343 and really feels right,[br]and you think, yes, 0:03:21.632,0:03:24.370 that really solidifies what I think, 0:03:24.370,0:03:26.090 that should be a warning to you 0:03:26.090,0:03:27.340 that it might be questionable. 0:03:27.340,0:03:30.800 Often you'll find that the[br]facts that are included 0:03:30.800,0:03:34.163 in memes that feel the most[br]right, are actually wrong. 0:03:35.110,0:03:37.780 - The world feels scary right now 0:03:37.780,0:03:40.160 and the future feels unknown. 0:03:40.160,0:03:41.670 Reading something on the internet 0:03:41.670,0:03:45.120 and assuming the worst,[br]seems almost reasonable. 0:03:45.120,0:03:47.469 But as Sarah said, if it feels right, 0:03:47.469,0:03:49.400 you might wanna check first. 0:03:49.400,0:03:52.920 And if something requires[br]an elaborate explanation, 0:03:52.920,0:03:54.980 maybe there's a simpler answer. 0:03:54.980,0:03:57.590 Sometimes a logo is just a logo. 0:03:57.590,0:04:00.500 Sometimes an aardvark is just an aardvark. 0:04:00.500,0:04:01.450 And why by the way, 0:04:01.450,0:04:04.380 is this truck company[br]named after an aardvark? 0:04:04.380,0:04:07.180 - The owner of Aardvark[br]Tours chose the name aardvark 0:04:07.180,0:04:09.770 because it starts with[br]AA and way back when, 0:04:09.770,0:04:12.330 when there were yellow[br]pages and the phone book. 0:04:12.330,0:04:15.610 - Sure, we had AA carpet[br]cleaning, AAA carpet cleaning. 0:04:15.610,0:04:17.521 - An aardvark starts with two A's. 0:04:17.521,0:04:19.269 So, that's how that came to be. 0:04:19.269,0:04:22.140 - Until next time don't spread[br]fake news, keep it real. 0:04:22.140,0:04:25.183 I'm Hari Sreenivasan and[br]this is take on faith. 0:04:25.183,0:04:28.340 (upbeat music) 0:04:28.340,0:04:29.300 Thanks for watching. 0:04:29.300,0:04:30.890 Want more tips and tricks for becoming 0:04:30.890,0:04:31.990 a better fact checker? 0:04:31.990,0:04:33.030 Subscribe to our channel 0:04:33.030,0:04:35.680 and let us know what you[br]think in the comments below.