The wider problem.
WHAT HAS CHANGED
Producing convincing false content is now cheap: text, images, audio, video.
That affects what audiences can trust and what journalists must verify.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR VERIFICATION
A photograph is no longer evidence that something happened A recording of a voice is no longer proof of who spoke A document may be fabricated convincingly
WHAT STILL WORKS
- Provenance: where did this come from, who provided it, can it be traced
- Corroboration: independent sources
- Physical verification: was this person there, does the location match
Contacting the apparent source directly
WHAT DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY
AI detection tools. They produce false positives and miss sophisticated output.
Do not report that something is AI-generated based on a detection score alone.
FOR REPORTING ON AI CONTENT
Be precise about what is established and what is suspected.
WHAT NEWSROOMS SHOULD PREPARE
Verification procedures for user-submitted material A position on what will be published without provenance
THE PRACTICAL REALITY
Verification is harder and more important than before.
