What we talk about when we talk about fake media online: fear and the future. The idea of a future filled with even more deep-fake videos, digital forgeries and online disinformation is enough to send real shivers of foreboding down our spines.

But not so for Walter Scheirer. Finding out what is fake online is one of Scheirer’s research specialties. Ask him about fake media, and he will tell you a positive story about the past.