Provenance for Trust at Connecting Media Communities 2026: how content provenance answers AI-driven disinformation
On 29 and 30 October 2026, TrustMyContent took part in Connecting Media Communities 2026, the gathering organised in Brussels by the European External Action Service (EEAS). In a panel shared with Florian Gauthier of askVERA, it presented the Provenance for Trust approach to journalists, fact-checkers and content creators from around the world. The core message: as AI enables massive and microtargeted disinformation, provenance, the verifiable record of a piece of content's origin and history, is becoming a new standard of transparency.
Key facts
| Event | Connecting Media Communities 2026 (sixth edition) |
| Dates | Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October 2026 |
| Location | Brussels |
| Organiser | European External Action Service (EEAS), the diplomatic service of the European Union |
| Audience | Journalists, fact-checkers, media organisations, content creators and experts from across the world |
| Session | Panel shared by TrustMyContent and askVERA (Florian Gauthier) |
| Challenge addressed | AI as an enabler of massive and microtargeted disinformation |
| Programme presented | Provenance for Trust: a toolbox for the authenticity, traceability and credibility of information |
What is Connecting Media Communities 2026?
Connecting Media Communities is an annual gathering organised by the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels for journalists, fact-checkers, media organisations, content creators and experts. The 2026 edition, the sixth, took place on 29 and 30 October and put one question at the centre: how is trust earned in the age of AI? The programme also covers media literacy, independent journalism and stronger information ecosystems.
What did TrustMyContent present in Brussels?
TrustMyContent presented the Provenance for Trust approach: combining complementary technologies to make the origin and history of content transparent and verifiable. The session was a panel shared with Florian Gauthier of askVERA. Each speaker introduced their own technological solution to the same challenge: AI as an enabler of massive, microtargeted disinformation.
Why is content provenance becoming strategic?
Because AI makes it cheap to produce convincing synthetic content at scale and to tailor it to narrow audiences, so audiences and information providers need a way to check where content comes from. Knowing who produced a piece of content, how, and with what modifications is no longer a technical detail. Content provenance and labelling tools are now key allies for information providers seeking to rebuild public trust.
What is Provenance for Trust?
Provenance for Trust is a programme that gives media and institutions a toolbox to guarantee the authenticity, traceability and credibility of information. It was founded and built with TrustMyContent, UncovAI, the Journalism Trust Initiative (led by Reporters Without Borders), CEPIC, L'Atelier and the médialab of Sciences Po. It covers six workstreams:
| Workstream | What it aims to do |
|---|---|
| Certification | Let media organisations demonstrate the rigour of their editorial practices. |
| Copyright | Protect the rights of creators and rights holders as content circulates and is reused. |
| Content authenticity | Make the origin and history of a piece of content verifiable, notably through standards such as C2PA. |
| AI transparency | Make the use of AI in producing and modifying content visible. |
| Typosquatting | Fight fake sites that imitate the domain names of trusted media. |
| Anti-scraping | Limit the unauthorised large-scale collection of content. |
What is the difference between detection, provenance and certification?
Detection estimates after the fact whether content is synthetic, provenance records its origin at the moment of creation, and certification attests to the rigour of whoever publishes it. The three answer different questions and complement each other.
| Approach | Question it answers | When | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI detection | Does this content appear to be AI-generated or AI-modified? | After creation | Gives a probability, not proof. |
| Provenance (C2PA, CAWG) | Where does this content come from, and what has happened to it? | At creation and at each modification | Requires the provenance information to be present and preserved. |
| Certification (JTI) | Does this publisher follow transparent, reliable journalistic practices? | At organisation level | Attests to a publisher, not to each individual piece of content. |
Go deeper: why a detector's score is a lead, not proof, and the limits of AI image detection, the topic of the CEPIC webinar with UncovAI and Sipa Press.
Definitions: the terms to know
- Content provenance: a verifiable record of a piece of content's origin and of the successive modifications it has undergone.
- Microtargeted disinformation: false or misleading content tailored to narrow audience segments, often using personal data.
- FIMI (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference): information manipulation and interference originating from abroad.
- C2PA: an open standard that attaches to a file a tamper-evident manifest recording the tools used, the edits made and any use of AI.
- CAWG: an extension of C2PA that adds verifiable identity, to show who claims to have created a piece of content.
- Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI): an initiative led by Reporters Without Borders that sets a standard of transparency and reliability for media.
- Typosquatting: registering domain names close to those of a media outlet or brand in order to deceive internet users.
- Scraping: automated collection of online content, often at large scale and without authorisation.
Who are the partners of Provenance for Trust?
The programme brings together six organisations with complementary expertise: trust, detection, journalism, press photography, innovation and research.
- TrustMyContent: founding partner, represented in Brussels on 29 and 30 October.
- UncovAI: detection of AI-generated or AI-modified content.
- Journalism Trust Initiative (Reporters Without Borders): a standard of transparency and reliability for journalism.
- CEPIC: the Coordination of European Picture Agencies Stock, Heritage and News.
- L'Atelier: founding partner of the programme.
- Sciences Po médialab: research on the information ecosystem.
How can you join the Provenance for Trust collective?
Newsrooms, photo agencies and verification teams can join the collective's workshops from the "About" page of provenance4trust.org. The workshops focus on practical ways to strengthen trust in information: provenance, AI transparency and the other workstreams of the toolbox.
Frequently asked questions
Published and last updated on by the Provenance for Trust team.