Metadata is evidence with a history
A field describing a file is itself data created by a system or person. It can be useful evidence, but its meaning depends on where it came from and how it was preserved. Start by distinguishing embedded metadata from filesystem records and metadata added by an export or reporting process.
A value carried forward from a source file has a different history from a value created when a new copy is saved. That distinction may matter more than the apparent precision of the displayed value.
Ask which proposition the field supports
Does the field describe a claimed creator, a software process, a recorded time or a device characteristic? What establishes that the field accurately reflects the event now alleged? Consider corroborating source records and the transformations between creation and examination.
Inconsistency is a reason to investigate, not an automatic finding of fabrication. Conversely, consistency does not by itself prove authenticity: a coherent set of values can still depend on assumptions that require examination.
Preserve the material needed to interpret it
An email attachment, platform download, screenshot and original file are different objects. Keep the supplied object and its transfer history identifiable. Document any conversion used to make it viewable and avoid treating a convenient derivative as interchangeable with the original source.
NIST’s guidance on digital-evidence preservation is a useful background reference on preserving digital material. Preservation supports later examination; it does not settle the meaning of a metadata field.
Define the limit of the conclusion
Metadata may support a file-history proposition without establishing a person’s identity or knowledge. A review should say whether it confirms an assertion, merely remains consistent with it, or cannot distinguish competing explanations.
Metadata analysis is most useful when the instruction identifies that disputed assertion. Where the issue concerns the truth of a depicted scene, distinguish that question from the origin of the digital image.