https://peertube.wtf/videos/watch/535c2879-b50f-4540-a63f-57c613048817 A Russian military base appears as a forest on Yandex satellite imagery. So how can you check what is really there, and whether the image you’re looking at is accurate? In this OSINT tutorial, I investigate a fake forest in Russia near St Petersburg, compare it with Google Earth and Esri World Imagery Wayback, and examine another example in central Seoul, South Korea. The site in Russia was first identified by Finnish broadcaster Yle, and in this session I show how repeated patterns, inconsistent edges and comparisons with other imagery can reveal what a public satellite map has obscured. This is also a practical tutorial on how to verify satellite images you come across in news reports, on social media or in your own research. We work through how to identify what an image shows, confirm its location, check when it was captured, and assess whether it supports the claims being made about it. YOU’LL LEARN HOW TO • Spot repeated textures and other signs of image manipulation. • Match locations using roads, buildings, runways and natural features. • Compare the same site across different map services. • Use historical imagery to check changes over time. • Distinguish an image’s capture date from its publication date. • Apply a simple verification checklist: source, location, date and comparison. Different imagery does not automatically mean manipulation. Capture dates, resolution, seasons and real changes on the ground can all affect what you see. The aim is to cross-check the evidence and understand what an image can, and cannot, tell you. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 01:17 Analysing the fake forest and spotting patterns 02:49 Cross-checking the location with Google Earth 04:00 Cross-checking the location with Esri World Imagery Wayback 05:24 Seoul: another fake forest on satellite maps 09:12 Hidden sites on satellite imagery 10:04 What a fake forest tells us vs blurring on satellite imagery 11:04 How to check satellite imagery yourself (checklist) 13:30 Final thoughts and resources SOURCES AND TOOLS Yle’s reporting on the Russian fake-forest example (in Finnish) Reporting by Mika Mäkeläinen, graphics by Juha Rissanen: https://yle.fi/a/74-20240624 Google Earth: https://earth.google.com/web/search/kotlin+island/@60.01510457,29.70486774,8.88374837a,1669.60115119d,35y,-0h,0t,0r/data=CjsaDQoJL20vMDM5Y3p6GAEiJgokCdMUGXU1cxlAERTtyAsu10LAGbA2kVG73lVAIR4B1m0YLmbAQgIIAToDCgEwQgIIAEoNCP___________wEQAA?authuser=0 Esri World Imagery Wayback: https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/wayback/#mapCenter=29.70074%2C60.01687%2C17&mode=explore&active=37965 Yandex Maps: https://yandex.com/maps/21776/kronstadt/satellite/?ll=29.700372%2C60.016668&z=17 Naver Maps: https://map.naver.com/p?c=14.22,0,0,2,dh Esri’s explanation of imagery metadata and capture dates: https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-living-atlas/imagery/wayback-with-world-imagery-metadata MORE OSINT TUTORIALS AND RESOURCES 6 Free Satellite Imagery Tools: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0RQPOdXrqw Finding a Giant Man on Satellite Imagery: https://youtu.be/3_7Cn_JSrZk My website: https://benjaminstrick.com/ OSINT Field Notes newsletter: https://osintfieldnotes.substack.com/ Naver Maps X thread: https://x.com/BenDoBrown/status/1604811584588611584?s=20 Generated satellite imagery: https://x.com/BenDoBrown/status/1643875142232166402?s=20 More fake satellite imagery: https://x.com/BenDoBrown/status/1625441586673770501?s=20 Disinformation attempts to undermine real satellite imagery: https://x.com/BenDoBrown/status/1513085409403842564?s=20 Have you come across a satellite image that didn’t look right? Share the example and how you checked it in the comments. #OSINT #SatelliteImagery #GoogleEarth Thu, 01 Oct 2026 11:28:32 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tube.shanti.cafe https://tube.shanti.cafe/lazy-static/avatars/aa4060e1-f724-4b01-9004-835186b680c3.png https://peertube.wtf/videos/watch/535c2879-b50f-4540-a63f-57c613048817 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tube.shanti.cafe/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.