100

THE RECORD

SECTION 06

ISSUE 001

OBSERVEDthesisnowconfidence / high

Provenance Is a Layer, Not Truth

Signed provenance can tell us who recorded a history and whether it changed. It cannot prove the event is true, or that unsigned media is false. Pair it with editorial verification, detection, source reputation, and public literacy—and design the interface to show exactly where each layer stops.

Why this idea is here

What the evidence establishes.

C2PA defines verifiable content histories; NIST explicitly surveys provenance alongside watermarking, detection, testing, and audit rather than as a standalone solution.

Source ledger

Read the sources.

  1. S01
    C2PA Technical Specification 2.4

    current technical standard / published 2026-04-01 / retrieved 2026-07-10

  2. S02
    Reducing Risks Posed by Synthetic Content

    NIST technical report / dated 2024 / retrieved 2026-07-09

Back to all 500 ideas