Trending Articles
Trending Topics
Trending
This article is part of our Opinions section, where we invite industry professionals to share their views on the most pressing technology questions of our time.
There was a time when a logo was enough. When viewers saw the BBC banner across a breaking news clip or the familiar graphics of CNN framing a live broadcast, they assumed authenticity. That trust was built over decades. It was earned slowly and reinforced daily.
Today, that assumption is no longer safe.
Artificial intelligence has transformed media creation. Tools that can generate realistic video, replicate broadcast graphics, clone voices and produce synthetic images are now widely accessible. What once required a newsroom or professional studio can now be produced in minutes. The line between authentic and synthetic content across video, audio, images and other digital media is becoming increasingly difficult to detect with the naked eye.
According to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, about 70% of global respondents say they worry that institutional leaders, including journalists and media organisations, are deliberately misleading the public. At the same time, generative AI tools capable of producing photorealistic video and cloned voices are becoming more powerful and widely available. As technology advances, the gap between what looks real and what is real continues to narrow.
The consequences are already visible. During Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pro-Kremlin accounts circulated a fabricated video clip stamped with BBC News branding that falsely claimed Ukrainian forces bombed a train station in Kramatorsk. The clip mirrored the BBC’s visual style so convincingly that many viewers believed it before the broadcaster publicly confirmed it was fake and worked to remove it.
In 2024, researchers documented a campaign by ISIS that created fake YouTube channels mimicking outlets such as CNN and Al Jazeera. These channels used authentic-looking logos, graphics and scrolling news tickers to distribute propaganda. To most viewers, they appeared legitimate.
These incidents are not isolated; they expose a structural vulnerability. Branding alone can now be copied with precision. Visual identity is no longer proof of authenticity.
This shift comes at a time when public confidence in news is already fragile. The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025 found that only around 40% of people trust most news most of the time. Meanwhile, identity fraud and deepfake cases are rising sharply. The same technologies used to generate creative content can be used to fabricate speeches, manipulate crisis coverage or impersonate journalists.
The longer audiences are exposed to convincing but false content, the more scepticism becomes the default response. Over time, that scepticism does not stop at the fake videos. It spreads to legitimate reporting. When seeing is no longer believing, trust erodes for everyone.
Live media represents one of the most urgent use cases for verifiable provenance.
Breaking news, election coverage, live sports and global events unfold in real time and are shared instantly across platforms. There is little opportunity for review before publication. A manipulated clip or spoofed broadcast can circulate widely before it is identified and debunked.
The fake BBC-branded video about Ukraine shows how urgency and emotion can amplify deception. Similar factors can increase the likelihood that audiences are misled by altered sports and entertainment content. In sports and entertainment, the risks are equally significant. Live rights represent billions of dollars in value, and a manipulated or misattributed stream can damage both commercial and reputational interests.
If audiences begin to question whether a live broadcast is genuine, the credibility of entire institutions is at risk.
For years, the industry response has focused on detection. Identifying deepfakes. Adding warning labels. Removing harmful content. Detection remains important, but it is reactive. It treats the symptom rather than the root problem.
Authenticity is not simply about labelling something as fake. It is about enabling transparency around origin, authorship and integrity. Audiences increasingly want to know where content came from, who created it and whether it has been altered. A binary label does not provide that context.
What is needed is a way for content to carry its own verifiable history.
This is where shared standards become essential. The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity has developed the C2PA specification to define how cryptographically secure provenance information can be attached to digital media. These standards apply across formats, including video, images, audio, documents and AI-generated content. Instead of relying solely on visual cues, content can be signed and verified through open, interoperable frameworks. The coalition also supports governance structures and trusted certificate issuance so that identity claims are anchored in recognised authorities rather than self-declared assertions.
Until recently, provenance initiatives focused largely on static assets such as photographs and video on demand. Extending these capabilities into live and broadcast media marks an important evolution. It means authenticity can travel with content in real time, embedded directly into streaming workflows. Crucially, this can be achieved without requiring fundamental changes to existing streaming infrastructure. Broadcasters and platforms can integrate provenance without disrupting delivery or degrading viewer experience.
Standards alone, however, are not enough. Certification and trusted issuance give those standards weight. Other industries have long relied on certificate authorities to secure web traffic and financial transactions. The media is now moving toward a similar model. When content is cryptographically signed under a recognised framework, viewers are no longer asked to trust based solely on brand familiarity. They can verify.
Misinformation will not disappear overnight. But the foundations of a more transparent ecosystem are beginning to take shape.
The BBC case and the spoofed global broadcasts remind us how fragile trust has become. They also clarify what must come next.
In an AI-shaped world where synthetic media is becoming easier and cheaper to produce, authenticity must travel with content. It must be embedded, verifiable and governed across every form of digital media, from live broadcasts to images, audio and documents. Shared standards and certification frameworks are not simply defensive tools. They are the beginning of a new social contract between media and audiences.
And in that contract, trust is no longer assumed. It is demonstrably earned.
