Authenticating Photographs Obtained from Social Media Platforms

In my last post, I wrote about how a party might authenticate a Facebook direct message or other text-based electronic communication. That post focused on how the proponent of the evidence might establish who wrote the message, i.e., authorship. But what if a party wants to introduce a photograph that was posted on a social media platform? The concept of authorship doesn’t really apply, and in the age of Photoshop and AI-generated images, courts may have serious concerns about the accuracy of online images. An example from an actual case. Consider United States v. Farrad, 895 F.3d 859 (6th Cir. 2016). The case began when “concerned citizens” notified law enforcement that they had seen Malik Farrad, a convicted felon, carrying a gun. An officer using a fake Facebook account sent a friend request to an account that appeared to belong to Farrad. The account holder accepted the request, and the officer promptly saw on the account a photograph of three guns in a bathroom. This prompted the officer to obtain a search warrant for the Facebook account. He served it on Facebook and received data in response, including several photographs that had recently been posted on the account showing (what appeared to be) Farrad holding (what appeared to be) guns against a backdrop (that appeared to be) Farrad’s apartment. The officer charged Farrad with being a felon in possession of a firearm. No concerned citizens testified at trial. The photographs were virtually the only evidence against Farrad, bolstered by officers’ testimony [...]