How do we know what we see online is real when AI-generated images, audio and video are becoming increasingly convincing?

There was a time when verifying a photograph or video meant getting hands-on with the evidence: checking metadata, inspecting images and cross-referencing details against satellite imagery or other sources. But as social platforms strip away useful information and AI-generated media becomes harder to distinguish from the real thing, the job of verifying content is changing fast.

In Episode 24 of The Signal, Tom Trewinnard and Fergus Bell explore whether new technologies can help us keep up. They look at Google’s SynthID, which embeds digital watermarks into AI-generated content designed to remain detectable even after cropping, screenshots and sharing, as well as other approaches to content provenance and verification. But what does it really mean for something to be labelled synthetic, and is watermarking enough to help us navigate an internet where seeing is no longer believing?

The conversation also turns to the wider media industry, where established organisations are under pressure to change how they work. At the BBC, there’s a call for a little less conversation and a little more action, while prominent journalists are exploring opportunities beyond traditional newsrooms and building new relationships with audiences.

And, as if that weren’t enough to keep up with, Tom and Fergus catch up on the latest developments in the AI model raceand what they could mean for the media.

From proving what’s real online to figuring out what journalism looks like next, this episode explores the technology and industry shifts reshaping the way we make, share and trust information.

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In Episode 23 of The Signal, we unpack a recent parliamentary hearing on AI safety, bringing together concerns from former employees, perspectives from AI companies and questions about the role of government oversight.

We look at the debate around how quickly AI is developing, whether voluntary safety testing can go far enough, and what happens when the people building these systems are also expected to keep them in check.

Then we zoom out. Because this isn’t just a conversation for policymakers or the tech industry. For journalism and the wider information ecosystem, the decisions being made about AI safety, accountability and oversight have real implications.

So where should the balance sit between innovation and responsibility? And what role should journalism play in holding the industry to account?

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What can journalism’s biggest collaborative projects teach us about working together today?

In Episode 22 of The Signal, Fathm co-founders Tom Trewinnard and Fergus Bell revisit the story behind Pop-Up Newsroom and the collaborative journalism projects that brought reporters, news organisations and technology partners together to tackle challenges no single newsroom could solve as effectively alone.

From Electionland in the US and Verificado in Mexico to disaster reporting initiatives and remote newsroom playbooks, they explore what makes collaboration work, what happens when projects become too ambitious, and why getting the right people in a room is only the beginning.

With newsroom budgets under pressure, audiences changing how they discover news and AI reshaping the media landscape, could pop-up newsrooms offer a useful model for the future of journalism?

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