Momentum builds behind content credentials to combat AI deepfakes

In April 2022 a BBC news report claimed that Ukraine was behind a missile attack on a Donbas station that killed 57 people. The video opened with a BBC logo and had the broadcaster’s watermark in the corner. It was a fake, as a BBC Verify journalist pointed out on X but it was also a wake-up call to the broadcaster to do something about rising deepfake disinformation.

“Everyone was horrified to see the fake video but the only thing we could do was tweet denials,” said Laura Ellis, Head of Technology Forecasting, BBC. “For some it was the ‘Aha!’ moment when they fully realised we needed to do more.”

Fortunately, the corporation was already pioneering efforts to go beyond flagging deepfakes after the event and to show audiences the source of video it publishes up front.

“The work of BBC Verify is key in terms of fact checking and signalling to the audience if we’ve not been...