With thanks to Margaret Winker and WAME newsletter.
'A new proposal calls on social media and AI companies to adopt strict verification, but the company hasn’t committed to following its own recommendations...'
'AI-enabled deception now permeates our online lives. There are the high-profile cases you may easily spot, like when White House officials recently shared a manipulated image of a protester in Minnesota and then mocked those asking about it. Other times, it slips quietly into social media feeds and racks up views, like the videos that Russian influence campaigns are currently spreading to discourage Ukrainians from enlisting. It is into this mess that Microsoft has put forward a blueprint, shared with MIT Technology Review, for how to prove what’s real online...'
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/19/1133360/microsoft-has-a-new-...
The article refers to a report 'Media Integrity and Authentication: Status, Directions, and Futures' on the Microsoft website:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Medi...
The report provides 'background on emerging challenges and future directions with media integrity and authentication methods, focusing on distinguishing AI-generated media from authentic content captured by cameras and microphones'. It seems to leave out the problem of AI-generated text, which is particularly important in health misinformation. The report does not appear to be peer-reviewed and there does not seem to have been a consultation process in its development, nor is there a clear plan for taking forward the issues.
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org