Adobe, Twitter and NYT reveals Content Authenticity Initiative to fight misinformation

In partnership with Twitter and The New York Times, Adobe on Monday revealed its Content Authenticity Initiative, a programme that seeks to create an “industry standard for digital content attribution”.

This means that online creators could soon embed digital watermarks into their content, ensuring authenticity and attribution in a space where plagiarism and fake news are rife.

“Adobe is developing an opt-in system that will allow creators and publishers to securely attach attribution data to content they choose to share,” Adobe explained in a press release.

Though the initiative is still in its prototype phase, the company believes that the technology will provide an “attribution trail” for online consumers of media to know where content is coming from.

“Combating misinformation will require the entire ecosystem—creators, publishers and platforms—to work together. This initiative lays the groundwork for doing that through open standards and protocols,” said The New York Times Company’s Marc Lavallee.

In fact, Adobe further invited other companies to join the Content Authenticity Initiative ahead of its upcoming launch.

The company and its partners plan to reveal the technology in the next few months.

Feature image: Adobe Photoshop