If you find an online picture of a relative, do you indicate where you obtained that photograph? What database did you find it in? What website hosted it? On what date did you find it? Who submitted the photograph? Is there any provenance or identification listed on the photograph? How do you really know who it is? How did the submitter know who it really was?
You may never be able to determine how the original submitter of the image knew who was in the picture. And if you don’t know that, it can be difficult to know how much trust to put in the identification. But tracking where you obtained the image is a good first step.
And…do not just download the image and crop off any identifying information the photograph includes. Once you lose it, it is gone. Provenance and sourcing matter.
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