The numbers are getting worse.
“When you enter this world where anything can be fake, then nothing has to be real. You get to deny any reality because all you have to say is, 'It's a deepfake.'”
“The greatest danger posed by AI isn't fake images themselves, it's the collapse of trust in real evidence.”
“As AI sweeps the world, there will be growing demand for human-checked, high-quality journalism.”
Executive confidence in journalism's prospects has fallen from 60% to 38% in four years. The industry knows the problem. It lacks a mechanism for readers to verify authenticity independently.
Provenance is coming. But it exposes your people.
Every image you publish is assumed fake until proven otherwise. The BBC, Reuters, NYT, and AP are piloting C2PA Content Credentials. In a BBC trial, 83% of users reported increased trust. But standard C2PA publishes the device certificate, signing identity, and precise metadata: exactly the trail that puts journalists at risk.
Apertrue solves this. Every image carries a zero-knowledge proof that anyone can check. Your audience doesn't need to trust your newsroom. They don't need to trust Apertrue. They verify it themselves. See how it works →
Let readers verify it themselves.
Provenance is already proven.
The cryptographic proof is attached before the image reaches the desk: authentic device, untampered, org domain where applicable. No reverse image search. Editorial time goes to editorial decisions.
Readers check it themselves.
One-line embed in any article. Readers click the badge and inspect the proof themselves. Verification circuits are open source. Proofs are anchored on-chain. They can't be altered or deleted, even by us.
Evidence that holds up.
Location and time are committed at upload but hidden by default. If challenged (courts, Ofcom, FOI), the photographer reveals precise data on their terms. Any third party confirms it matches the original proof.
Native proving for newsrooms.
On-premise prover that runs on your infrastructure. Images verified automatically at ingest. No browser step, no manual upload. Batch processing for wire services and high-volume desks. Integrates with any CMS.
Verification without a trail.
Photographers choose what to disclose per upload: country, city, or nothing. Enforced cryptographically, not by policy.
Conflict zone
Image verified as authentic, from a real camera, in the correct country. Exact neighbourhood, device serial number, and certificate issuer hidden. The photographer is not a target.
Whistleblower source
Image verified as genuine and unedited. Device identity concealed. Under subpoena, the server holds only encrypted ciphertext and one-way hashes. No device fingerprint to trace.
Undercover investigation
Reporter files verified images under a pseudonym. Organisational affiliation proven without revealing which newsroom, bureau, or individual.
The server never receives: the C2PA manifest, certificate chain, EXIF data, GPS coordinates, device identifiers, encryption keys, or passkey private keys. A full database compromise yields nothing actionable. Full security model →
Give your audience proof.
Publicly verifiable. Independently auditable. Your audience doesn't need to trust you or us. Just the mathematics.