English · Première, Terminale (B1 to C2), Bac pro

Session 3: Recycled pictures: the shark on the highway

Read one step, do it, then move on.
Step 1

Recap check

Recap check
  1. Give two clues of an AI picture.
  2. Why is a detector not enough?
  3. What is the best checking habit?
Answer key
  1. Strange hands, inconsistent reflections, blurred faces, wrong setting.
  2. It can be wrong.
  3. Look for other reliable sources of the same event.
Step 2

Objectives

Step 3
Today's language goal

To tell the story of a recycled picture over time, we need the words of tracing (reverse image search, composite, original, recycled, crop) and the contrast past simple / present perfect.

Documents

The viral post

Since 2011, after nearly every big hurricane in the United States, the same picture comes back: a shark swimming down a flooded street next to a car. It was said to be Puerto Rico in 2011, then Houston, Daytona Beach and Florida. In 2022, one version came from a satirical account whose name had been cropped out of the screenshot.

Fact-checks : Snopes · CBS News

"The image of the shark was lifted from a 2005 photograph of a kayaker being trailed by a great white shark"
Snopes
The press as counterpoint

As early as 2011, The Washington Post explained the picture was fake by finding the original 2005 photo from the magazine Africa Geographic. Read the article

Step 4

Grammar lesson: past simple or present perfect

To tell the story of a recycled picture over time, we need past simple or present perfect
On the board, to copy

Rule

2005, last year, ago → past simple. since, for, ever, never → present perfect.

Form

  • past simple: verb + -ed or irregular: The photo was taken in 2005.
  • present perfect: have / has + past participle: The picture has come back many times.
  • past simple with: in 2005, in 2011, ago, last year, when.
  • present perfect with: since 2011, for fifteen years, ever, never, already, so far.

Examples from the lesson

  • The original photo was taken in 2005 for Africa Geographic.
  • In 2011, The Washington Post explained that the picture was fake.
  • Since 2011, the shark has appeared after nearly every big hurricane.

Common mistakes

  • Not The picture has appeared in 2011., but The picture appeared in 2011.
  • Not Since 2011, the picture comes back., but Since 2011, the picture has come back.

Quick check (2 minutes, hands up or mini whiteboards)Past simple or present perfect?

  1. In 2005, a photographer (take) ______ the photo.
  2. Since then, the shark (swim) ______ through many floods.
  3. In 2011, The Washington Post (find) ______ the original.
  4. (you / ever / see) ______ this picture?
Show the answers

1. took. 2. has swum. 3. found. 4. Have you ever seen.

Exercises

EntryRecognition. Say which tense is used and why: finished and dated (F), up to now (N), experience (E).

  1. The photo was taken in 2005.
  2. The picture has come back after many hurricanes.
  3. Have you ever used reverse image search?
  4. In 2022, a satirical account posted it.
  5. Fact-checkers have debunked it many times.
  6. The Washington Post explained it in 2011.
Show the answers

1. past simple, F. 2. present perfect, N. 3. present perfect, E. 4. past simple, F. 5. present perfect, N. 6. past simple, F.

CoreGap-fill. Put the verb in the past simple or the present perfect.

  1. In 2005, the magazine Africa Geographic (publish) the original photo.
  2. Since then, the shark (become) a symbol of fake news.
  3. In 2011, people (say) it was Puerto Rico.
  4. The picture (be) shared millions of times so far.
  5. Two years ago, I (see) it on my feed.
  6. Snopes (check) it several times since 2011.
  7. In 2022, someone (crop) the account's name.
  8. I (never / use) TinEye.
Show the answers

1. published. 2. has become. 3. said. 4. has been. 5. saw. 6. has checked. 7. cropped. 8. have never used.

StretchProduction. Tell the story of the shark picture in six sentences: four dated events in the past simple, two sentences in the present perfect.

Show the answers

For example: In 2005, a photographer took a picture of a kayaker trailed by a shark. In 2011, someone pasted the shark onto a flooded street. The Washington Post found the original the same year. In 2022, a satirical version circulated without its account name. Since 2011, the picture has come back after nearly every hurricane. It has fooled thousands of people.

Words in action

To say it precisely, we need the right words

EntryMatch: composite, original, recycled, crop.

  1. used again for another purpose
  2. made by putting several pictures together
  3. to cut off part of a picture
  4. the first version
Show the answers

1. recycled. 2. composite. 3. crop. 4. original.

Task 1

Draw a timeline: 2005, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022. Note the place given each time.
Step 5

Task 2

Demo: reverse image search (Google Lens, TinEye) finds the first appearances of a picture.
Step 6

Task 3

Why does it come back? Fear, emotion, current events.
Step 7

Figures of speech in the documents

Personification and metaphor: a picture that comes back, an image lifted

“the same picture comes back”; “The image of the shark was lifted from a 2005 photograph” (Snopes)

The picture comes back, like an animal. This is personification.

EntryWhich verb makes the picture act like a living thing?

Show the answers

comes back.

Gap-fill worksheet

Word bank : composite reverse 2005 satirical context
  1. The shark comes from a photo taken in .
  2. Pasting two photos together makes a .
  3. A image search finds the origin of a photo.
  4. A account posts jokes.
  5. A real picture can mislead if its changes.
Answer key
  1. 2005
  2. composite
  3. reverse
  4. satirical
  5. context
Step 8

Expression task

Now say it

Draw the timeline, then tell the story of the shark picture orally in one minute.

EntryThree dated sentences in the past simple.

Tools to use:

  • original, composite, recycled, crop
  • past simple / present perfect; since, for
  • reverse image search

Sentence starters:

  • In 2005, ...
  • In 2011, ...
  • Since then, it has ...
  • So, before sharing, ...
Show a model answer

In 2005, a photographer took a picture of a kayaker followed by a great white shark. In 2011, the shark was pasted onto a flooded street. The Washington Post found the original that same year. Since then, the picture has come back after nearly every big hurricane, like a zombie rumour. So, before sharing, I run a reverse image search.

Homework

Pick a famous photo of a monument. Run a reverse image search and note the oldest date you find and the first site that published it.
Answer keyModel answer: a date, a named site, and one sentence on how reliable that site is (agency, museum, media outlet, personal account).