Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft has partnered with a group of technology and media firms to fight misinformation and online content fraud, through the newly formed Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA).
Created with founding members Adobe, software provider Arm, BBC, Intel and photo and video verification firm Truepic, the initiative aims to develop “technical standards for certifying the source and history or provenance of media content”, says Microsoft.
“There’s a critical need to address widespread deception in online content – now supercharged by advances in artificial intelligence and graphics and diffused rapidly via the internet,” said Eric Horvitz, chief scientific officer at Microsoft. “Our imperative as researchers and technologists is to create and refine technical and sociotechnical approaches to this grand challenge of our time.
“We’re excited about methods for certifying the origin and provenance of online content. It’s an honour to work alongside Adobe, BBC and other C2PA members to take this critical work to the next step.”
C2PA members will work together to develop specifications for common asset types and formats to enable publishers, creators and consumers to trace the origin and evolution of a piece of media, including images, videos, audio and documents.
“It’s vital that news providers play a part in the battle against disinformation,” said Jatin Aythora, chief architect at the BBC. “We welcome the opportunity to participate in the C2PA provenance work, which has the potential to support audience confidence in news at a time when trusted sources of information are more important than ever.”