News Organizations Will Start Using Digital Watermarks To Combat Fake News

Fakes news has proven to be a huge problem these days, especially when sharing it on social media can allow it to spread extremely fast, with the potential to do a lot of damage before it can be stopped (if at all). However, it seems that major news organizations are working together to address this problem through the use of digital watermarks.

Dubbed Project Origin, according to a report from the BBC (who will be participating in it), it attaches a “digital watermark to media originating from an authentic content creator, a watermark that degrades when content has been manipulated. When fielded, audiences will see an indicator of authenticity, along with a message on the content or in the browser. This is to ensure audiences know the content, such as video, was actually produced by its purported source, and has not been manipulated for other purposes.”

Basically these watermarks act as a seal of authenticity of sorts, where if you see it being used, then there is a good chance that you can trust the source. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter along with Google will also somehow be able to use those digital watermarks to help flag articles as “genuine”,

According to Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC, “Disinformation is one of today’s great harms. It can undermine democracy, create division and distort public debate. Tackling it is a pressing priority. That’s why it is so vital that TNI is successful. It has had a remarkable start and I’m pleased more organisations are joining the fight against disinformation. In a world of increasing division, working together is the best way to deliver results.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Facebook, Google, Twitter