The real threat of AI is the collapse of trust

Why journalism needs to prove which images are authentic — not just label deepfakes

A lie travels the world on social media before a community note can lace up its shoes.

Last week, the White House shared an image of a protester arrested in Minneapolis. It had been digitally altered to add tears and darken her skin. Several news outlets debunked the image, some citing the use of artificial intelligence detection tools.

But the damage was done. Millions had already seen it on X.

AI has unleashed a torrent of photorealistic images and videos in our news feeds. As generative tools proliferate, cheap and convincing fakes will appear in more critical contexts — fast, frequent and often untraceable.