Look for an orientation clue
Text, clothing logos and asymmetric objects can reveal a flip. Do not assume a selfie is in its original orientation: camera previews and saved pictures can differ. Keep the supplied version because it records what you actually encountered.
Compare both versions
- Duplicate the image in a local editor.
- Apply only a horizontal flip to the copy.
- Search the original and flipped file separately.
- Check candidate pages for the same composition and distinctive details.
Suppose your portrait contains a jacket badge on one side. A reused version shows it on the opposite side, along with reversed lettering. That combination supports a flip of the photograph. A different portrait with a badge elsewhere does not establish copying by itself.
Keep the conclusion specific
A flip may be a normal editing choice rather than an attempt to hide reuse. Document the image relationship and the page where it appears. Do not infer the publisher's intentions from orientation alone. If neither version matches, changing orientation has tested one possibility; it has not proven the image is absent from the web.
Continue with photo formats and metadata.