The Photo That Fooled a Village

Last spring, a photo appeared in a small town's online group.

It showed a huge snake on the roof of the local school, and within an hour, hundreds of people had shared it.

Some parents called the school, while others demanded that the building be closed at once.

However, a teacher named Ms.

Lin did not believe the picture.

She noticed that the snake's shadow fell in a strange direction, which did not match the sunny weather that day.

Using a free online tool, she checked the image and found that it had been edited.

The photo was actually a mix of two older pictures: one of a toy snake and one of the school roof.

Ms.

Lin posted her findings with the original images side by side.

Slowly, people began to calm down and thanked her for checking before sharing.

The town then started a small media club, where students learn to ask three simple questions: Who made this?

When was it made?

And why might someone want us to believe it?