The next decisive recording will arrive before our institutions are ready for it. It may show a governor accepting a bribe, a police officer issuing an unlawful command, a physician altering a chart, a candidate confessing contempt for the voters, or a military official announcing an attack that has not occurred. The image will be clear. The voice will be familiar. The setting will be plausible. Millions of people will see it before any newsroom, court, agency, or laboratory can establish where it came from. The accused will call it artificial. Supporters will not require proof. Opponents will not trust any proof offered in reply. Platforms will attach hurried labels. Forensic vendors will issue competing percentages. Partisans will treat technical uncertainty as political permission. By nightfall, the artifact will no longer be evidence of an event. It will be an instrument for measuring allegiance.

Continue reading → The Chain of Custody for Reality: Why Every Public Image, Voice, and Document Must Prove Its Origin