We have a trust problem. Every day, AI-generated videos and images become more sophisticated and harder to detect. From deepfake political speeches to fabricated war footage, we’re losing our ability to distinguish real from fake.
But what if the solution was as simple as the padlock icon in your browser?
The Problem Is Getting Worse
Last week, a friend shared a video of a celebrity endorsing a product. It looked perfect—the voice, the mannerisms, everything. It was completely fake. This isn’t just about celebrities; it’s about news footage, evidence in court cases, and the fundamental trust in what we see.
Current solutions—watermarks, blockchain registries, AI detection tools—are either too complex, too easy to circumvent, or require massive new infrastructure. We need something simpler.
Learning from Email Security
Here’s the insight: we already solved this problem for email.
When you receive an email from your bank, hidden technology verifies it actually came from your bank’s domain. It’s called DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and it works silently in the background. No blockchain, no central authority—just simple cryptographic verification.
Why not use the same approach for videos and images?
How Domain-Verified Media Works
Imagine this:
- CNN posts a video: They encrypt it with their private key—a digital signature only they possess.
- You share it anywhere: The video travels across social media, messaging apps, and websites, maintaining its encrypted verification.
- Anyone plays it: The video player checks CNN.com’s public domain records (just like checking a phone book) and verifies the signature. A simple checkmark appears: “✓ Verified from CNN.com”
That’s it. If you trust CNN.com, you trust the video. No new apps to download, no accounts to create, no blockchain to understand.
# DKIM Example:
selector._domainkey.example.com TXT "k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCS..."
# Proposed Video Auth:
_videoauth.example.com TXT "v=VIDAUTH1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCS..."Why This Works
It’s simple: Users already understand domain names. If you trust BBC.com for news, you’ll trust video verified from BBC.com.
It uses existing infrastructure: The internet’s DNS system already handles billions of lookups daily. We’re just adding one more type of record.
It’s decentralized: No single company or government controls it. Each domain owner manages their own keys.
It scales: From major news organizations to individual creators with their own domains, anyone can participate.
Real-World Impact
Consider these scenarios:
- Breaking news: Verify that footage actually comes from Reuters.com, not a fake news site
- Political content: Confirm that campaign video really comes from the official campaign domain
- Corporate communications: Ensure that CEO announcement is authentic, not a deepfake
- Content creators: YouTubers and influencers can verify their content through their own domains
The Path Forward
This isn’t science fiction—the technology exists today. We just need:
- Standards agreement: Tech companies agreeing on the format (like they did with email)
- Player support: Video players adding verification features (browsers are logical first adopters)
- Creator adoption: Major media organizations leading by example
Starting Small, Thinking Big
We don’t need everyone to adopt this overnight. Start with news organizations and official government channels. As users begin to expect that checkmark, demand will drive adoption.
The beauty is its simplicity. No one needs to understand cryptography—just like no one needs to understand HTTPS to see the padlock icon. They just need to look for the checkmark and recognize the domain.
The Future of Trust
In a world where anyone can generate convincing fake content, we need a simple way to verify the real thing. Domain-verified media offers that simplicity. It’s not perfect—no solution is—but it’s a practical step forward that builds on infrastructure and mental models we already have.
The technology is ready. The question is: are we?
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