Overview
ExifTool is the de facto standard for reading file metadata. It extracts EXIF, IPTC, XMP, and many other metadata formats from images, videos, PDFs, and more.
Features
- Reads a very wide range of metadata formats
- Batch processing across many files
- Scriptable command-line interface
Typical election use cases
- Checking capture time and device details of an image
- Detecting editing software in a file's history
- Extracting GPS data when present
Limitations
Social platforms strip metadata, and metadata can be forged. Treat findings as leads to corroborate, not as proof.
#metadata#verification#open-source#cli