New tool detects digitally-altered images

Researchers at the Department of Science at Dartmouth College have developed a software tool that can rate photographs based on how much they have been digitally altered with programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Mashable reports.

The proposed tool is part of an effort to bring truth to advertising and restore the perception of natural beauty.

According to PC Mag, Harry Farid, one of the researchers, and Eric Kee, a Ph.D student in computer science at Dartmouth, have come up with an algorithm that assigns a one to five rating that shows how pictures in fashion and beauty magazines have been photoshopped, from minimal retouching to absurd changes that make the subject look nearly unrecognisable.

Since the software is supposed to mirror human perceptions, the team started by having hundreds of people compare before and after images and rate them one to five. The human ratings helped teach the software. Their findings will be published this week in scholarly journal, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Star reveals that Matthew Johnson, director of education at the non-profit Media Awareness Network, in Ottawa, said such tools would help educate young people about body image.

“By looking at what's changed, young people become aware of how artificial the images are, and ... they are less likely to compare themselves to the images that they see,” he said.