So lately I’ve been noticing a new trend on instagram – distrust! Yes, you read that right… distrust has creeped into every big and small post that shows anything remotely outrageous or extraordinary! It has become extremely easy to manipulate images, create reality that doesn’t exist, show accidents that never happened, and manufacture proofs of claims you wish to promote! The result is a skeptic public that is taking everything with a pinch of salt! Head to the comment section of any post that seems even slightly click-bait(y), and you’d know what I mean!
While this is just leisure scrolling, what it points to is a bigger emerging trend through media and channels. Especially when it comes to using AI in business communication!
The release of next-gen generative video models has permanently changed the landscape of brand communication. What used to look like experimental, slightly uncanny AI clips has evolved into cinematic, photorealistic video that’s nearly indistinguishable from reality. And that raises the biggest question brands now face: If your audience can’t tell the difference between real and synthetic video, how can they trust anything you publish?
Well, for those of you who read Harry Potter, I’ll make it simple – we need a Defense Against the Dark Arts expert! Or Defense Against the Deepfake Arts
In the Post-Sora 2 Reality, brand trust has become both your most valuable and most fragile asset. The threat of malicious deepfakes targeting your spokesperson, or even an accidental off-brand AI video slipping through your system, has skyrocketed. This is no longer a niche technical concern, it’s a looming PR crisis with legal and regulatory consequences.
Internal governance is no longer enough. Brands now need a public-facing deepfake defense.
Shift from Prevention to Proof
The industry’s focus has long been on prevention – building controls and guardrails to stop non-compliant content from going out. But with AI tools becoming autonomous and high-fidelity generative video now accessible to anyone with a browser, prevention alone won’t cut it. Brands must shift from prevention to proof. They must be able to instantly confirm to the public that the video they’re watching is real, authorized, and produced within a secured environment.
This is where Digital Provenance and Watermarking become essential pillars of modern brand trust.
Provenance acts as a verifiable chain of custody for every AI-generated asset. It ensures that each video carries an unbreakable trace of its creation, what they call metadata – when it was produced, which model was used, and what compliance checks it passed – embedded invisibly within the file. It serves as a “mark of authenticity” that can be surfaced on demand.
To make this meaningful, provenance must connect to a public verifier. Viewers, media platforms, and partners should be able to scan a QR code or use platform-native verification tools to confirm that the video originated from your official system – not a third-party bad actor. This allows you to prove authenticity instantly, without relying on damage control after a fake has already gone viral.
For brands with AI spokespeople, synthetic presenters, or virtual ambassadors, this defense must extend to likeness rights. The digital likeness must be protected by auditable licensing that you can enforce. If a malicious deepfake appears using your spokesperson’s face or voice, you can act immediately with verified evidence of unauthorized use.
Generative AI has unlocked extraordinary creative power. But in an environment where synthetic video is indistinguishable from reality, trust becomes the ultimate competitive differentiator. Public-facing deepfake defense isn’t optional – it’s the new foundation of brand credibility.
Brands that invest in authenticity infrastructure today will be the ones consumers trust tomorrow. Those who don’t may find their message drowned out by the very technology they failed to secure.
