Bellingcat Challenge #9 "Clouded Perception" Writeup

This article was automatically translated from Japanese by AI.

Challenge

Bellingcat Challenge #9 “Clouded Perception”

This serene lake is a beautiful sight, but something is off: this image has been manipulated.

What should we do if an image is altered, either by hand or with AI?

What is the 6 digit number hidden in the image?

Solution

I checked the EXIF data and tried Google Image Search, but neither produced any useful information.

I then used Forensically, a standard image forensics tool, and opened Error Level Analysis. Something resembling digits was faintly visible in the sky. Setting JPEG Quality to 73 and Magnifier Enhancement to Auto Contrast made 428309 readable.

Flag

428309