The surge in AI imagery and altered photos from war zones is creating a nightmare for society. So it’s with great relief to see Leica launch the world’s first camera with Content Credentials built-in.
Leica has deployed the global Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) standard in the M11-P. This ensures each image is captured with secure metadata.
It carries information such as camera make and model, as well as content-specific information including who captured an image and when, and how they did so.
Each image captured will receive a digital signature, and the authenticity of images can be easily verified by visiting contentcredentials.org/verify or in the Leica FOTOS app.
This is a big moment for the credibility of photography, especially photojournalism.
“We are thrilled to announce that industry-leading camera manufacturer Leica is officially launching the new M11-P camera — the world’s first camera with Content Credentials built-in,” said Santiago Lyon, Head of Advocacy and Education, CAI.
“This is a significant milestone for the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) and the future of photojournalism.
“It will usher in a powerful new way for photojournalists and creatives to combat misinformation and bring authenticity to their work and consumers, while pioneering widespread adoption of Content Credentials.”
So from the first capture to multiple edits, you’ll have a complete record of changes an image goes through.
Here’s how it works.
First: A photograph is created with the Leica M11-P with Content Credentials activated.
Second: Content Credentials in Adobe Photoshop is enabled and the image from a Leica M11-P is imported. Content Credentials for the image can be verified in the menu.
Third: The photograph is altered using Photoshop. This edit becomes part of the file’s Content Credentials.
Fourth: The edited image is exported from Photoshop and inspected using Verify (contentcredentials.org/verify). This website verifies the image and changes made to it.
Adobe co-founded the Content Authenticity Initiative in 2019 to help combat the threat of misinformation and help creators get credit for their work.
CAI is a coalition of nearly 2,000 members, including Leica Camera, AFP, the Associated Press, the BBC, Getty Images, Microsoft, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and others.
The system works if everyone buys into it. At this point it’s easy to strip out the metadata by taking a screen grab, for example. But it’s a step in the right direction and that step is badly needed.
