• Success Criterion 1.2.1
  • Conformance level A
  • W3C reference F67

Long Description That Doesn’t Match What the Audio Actually Says

1.2.1 — Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)

Scenario

Setting

A nonprofit's donation form

What’s wrong

The long description provided for an image doesn't actually convey the same information as the image itself.

Example 

<audio src="podcast.mp3"></audio>

Why it matters

Deaf people who need transcripts of audio-only media, and blind people who need alternatives to silent video.

How to test

Open the linked long description for the audio/video-only media and compare it point-by-point against the recording: gaps mean it fails.

How to fix

Make the long description convey the same information the image conveys.

<audio src="podcast.mp3"></audio>
<a href="podcast-transcript.html">Read the transcript</a>

A text transcript gives Deaf users the same content the audio carries, with no video/audio dependency.

Outcome

On a nonprofit's donation form, this barrier is gone for deaf people who need transcripts of audio-only media — they can complete the task without hitting this wall.

Who is affected

Deaf people who need transcripts of audio-only media, and blind people who need alternatives to silent video.

Learn more

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