C2PA Provenance Labels Increase Trust in Digital News Platforms Across Western Countries

Abstract

Misinformation and disinformation threaten global public trust in news media. Generative AI exacerbates mistrust by making it difficult to distinguish authentic images from AI-generated ones. This study examines whether accompanying images with C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) provenance labels can restore trust. C2PA is an open standard that cryptographically secures and describes a media file’s origin and editing history. We conducted an online experiment with N=6,114 participants, reflecting audiences of six major news sources in the US, UK, and Norway. Each participant evaluated six news article previews with images, either accompanied by a provenance label (three levels of detail) or not. Presenting provenance metadata to participants significantly improved their perceptions of an image’s transparency and credibility, and also increased feelings of trust in a presented news source. These results show that verifiable provenance makes visual content more inspectable and strengthens brand trust. By adopting C2PA or similar frameworks, news organizations can counter AI-generated disinformation and improve audience trust.