| Philosophy | Canon Nordic and Uncle Grey Copenhagen have created a global database, called Truthmark, where photographers and photojournalists can upload their photos along with the real story behind the image. The photographers can mark their image with Truthmark using a tool that gives it unique digital fingerprint. The images are the copyright of the photographer and once the images are uploaded to the database they are encrypted, along with the story behind the image. Journalists and members of the public who want to check the authenticity of images can perform a free image search on the platform to discover the origin of the image and the context in which it was taken. The aim of the Truthmark Initiative is to protect democracy by reducing the misuse of photos worldwide and ensuring that the truth is protected. There are many examples of photos being co-opted to support the spread of fake news, including more recently an old photo collection of empty Norwegian hospitals used to fuel an untrue story about COVID-19 being non-existent in the country. Uncle Grey Copenhagen programmed and designed the Truthmark database using a digital fingerprint technology, which can recognize images – even if they have been slighty altered. So, if an image has been tampered with, users can still find the original image and true story in the database, if the photographer has uploaded the original. |