Images, it seems almost a truism by now, can no longer be trusted: with generative AI, we are told, comes the end of truth. Yet the evidential value of technical images has never been uncontroversial, and images have been manipulated, decontextualized and dis-interpreted since the beginnings of photography. What has changed is that the suspicion of manipulation has become the default mode of image perception, spawning new forms of both playful and problematic pseudo-forensic investigation. On social media, almost any widely circulating image will sooner or later become the object of intense scrutiny. Practices of «wild forensis» — collective, networked image interpretation and analysis — borrow the visual rhetoric and iconography of open source intelligence and professional image forensics, without ever reaching a verdict. Visual truth is not abandoned; it is put into permanent competition, and the investigation continues as long as it generates clicks, engagement and reactions. Taking recent cases such as the killing of Renee Good as its starting point, the lecture develops a theory of «wild forensis» as an online visual practice.

The lecture is organized by DFK Paris in cooperation with “Théâtres de la Mémoire”, Groupe de recherches en études cinématographiques - Universités Paris 1 (HICSA) Paris 3 (IRCAV) Paris 8 (ESTCA) Bordeaux (ARTES).