---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't trust words. I trust pictures."
description: "\"I don't trust words. I trust pictures.\" — Gilles Peress"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/gilles-peress-48334_don-t-trust_i-don-t-trust-words-i-trust-pictures-243_2438535.jpg"
---

#  I don't trust words. I trust pictures.

![“I don't trust words. I trust pictures.” quote by Gilles Peress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/gilles-peress-48334_don-t-trust_i-don-t-trust-words-i-trust-pictures-243_2438535.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/gilles-peress-48334_don-t-trust_i-don-t-trust-words-i-trust-pictures-243_2438535.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/gilles-peress-48334_don-t-trust_i-don-t-trust-words-i-trust-pictures-243_2438535.jpg)

> “I don't trust words. I trust pictures.”

[Gilles Peress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-peress/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Visual images convey truth more reliably than spoken words, which can be deceptive.

**In simple terms:** Images are more trustworthy than words.

Key Takeaway

Rely on visual evidence.

Themes

truth visual communication skepticism

Mood

skeptical inquisitive

Type

media philosophical

When to use this quote

- news reporting
- advertising
- social media
- documentary work

Key Concepts

media literacy photography

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you verify visual information?
- When might words be more effective?

A Different Perspective

Words can also convey nuance.

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## Related quotes

> [I trust pictures, but no pictures made in my world - because I know what goes on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-campbell/i-trust-pictures-but-no-pictures-made-in-my-world-because-i-know-what/)

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> [Don't trust words, trust actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jofeliza-padrigone/don-t-trust-words-trust-actions/)

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> [Don't trust their words, trust their actions, because actions will prove why words are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anmol-andore/don-t-trust-their-words-trust-their-actions-because-actions-will/)

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> [“Words are important to me. I listen to each one, weigh and measure it. If I cannot trust your words, how can I trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klassen/words-are-important-to-me-i-listen-to-each-one-weigh-and-measure-it/)

[Julie Klassen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klassen/)

> [Never Trust Words..Trust Actions...Actions Always Speak Louder Than Words…!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-trust-words-trust-actions-actions-always-speak-louder-than-words/)

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> [Don't promise me things. I don't trust words, I trust actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santanu-mishra/don-t-promise-me-things-i-don-t-trust-words-i-trust-actions/)

[Santanu Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santanu-mishra/)

> [I don't trust words . I do trust actions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trust/i-don-t-trust-words-i-do-trust-actions/)

[Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trust/)

> [Dont trust words, trust actions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-trust-words-trust-actions/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

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[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“He tends to trust pictures more than he trusts words. Not because pictures cannot lie but because, once they leave the darkroom, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/he-tends-to-trust-pictures-more-than-he-trusts-words-not-because/)

[J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/)

> [“What's the true reason I've decided I trust him? Certainly his Council work recommends him, his choice of friends. But isn't it just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/what-s-the-true-reason-i-ve-decided-i-trust-him-certainly-his-council/)

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> [Don't make me regret if I tell you this words. I trust you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/don-t-make-me-regret-if-i-tell-you-this-words-i-trust-you/)

[Meicee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meicee/)

> [“We suffer from the malady of words, and have no trust in any feeling that is not stamped with its special word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-suffer-from-the-malady-of-words-and-have-no-trust-in-any-feeling/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## More by Gilles Peress

> [We are entering into an age in which visual language is defined by a dialogue between photographers and audiences. This means not just the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-peress/we-are-entering-into-an-age-in-which-visual-language-is-defined-by-a/)

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> [I am bad at memory - this is why I shoot pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-peress/i-am-bad-at-memory-this-is-why-i-shoot-pictures/)

[Gilles Peress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-peress/)

> [I don't care so much anymore about 'good photography'; I am gathering evidence for history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-peress/i-don-t-care-so-much-anymore-about-good-photography-i-am-gathering/)

[Gilles Peress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-peress/)

> [I'm proposing to you that photography is a language on its own, which is that when you look at images you do derive ideas;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-peress/i-m-proposing-to-you-that-photography-is-a-language-on-its-own-which/)

[Gilles Peress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-peress/)

> [ \[The photograph is\] still a space to reorganize our thoughts about reality and our place in the world. How do you disentangle the surface… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-peress/the-photograph-is-still-a-space-to-reorganize-our-thoughts-about/)

[Gilles Peress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-peress/)

> [Even before I started photography, I began to see that there was a disjunction between available languages and reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-peress/even-before-i-started-photography-i-began-to-see-that-there-was-a/)

[Gilles Peress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-peress/)

> [I think I've got a peculiar disease. I call it the curse of history, and it has to do with the fugitive absence/presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-peress/i-think-i-ve-got-a-peculiar-disease-i-call-it-the-curse-of-history/)

[Gilles Peress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-peress/)

[Explore all 8 Gilles Peress quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-peress/)

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> [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/)

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> [When I see someone with an immaculate sketchbook, I don't trust that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kody-chamberlain/when-i-see-someone-with-an-immaculate-sketchbook-i-don-t-trust-that/)

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> [You're just a silly little Whitehall twit: you don't trust me and I don't trust you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/you-re-just-a-silly-little-whitehall-twit-you-don-t-trust-me-and-i/)

[Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/)

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[Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/)

> [I don't trust lawyers and journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ling/i-don-t-trust-lawyers-and-journalists/)

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