Qualcomm Fighting Misinformation With Photo Validation Tool

Qualcomm is the latest company to tackle misinformation, announcing a tool designed to ensure the validity of photos and videos.

Shallowfakes (photos manipulated through traditional means) and deepfakes (photos manipulated with AI) are a growing concern for researchers, tech giants, security experts and politicians. A single photo or videos manipulated to portray someone in a compromising position, or saying something inflammatory, can have profound repercussions.

Qualcomm is the latest company to tackle the problem, teaming up with Truepic. Most digital images contain metadata, such as the time the photo was taken and the location where it was taken. Normally, this metadata is relatively easy to edit and change, either via the camera’s settings or with a third-party application after the picture is taken. Truepic’s software makes it harder to modify the metadata, thereby protecting the integrity of the media.

Qualcomm plans to embed Truepic’s software in its smartphone chips. According to NBC News,“the feature enables a ‘secure’ photo capture mode within a device’s native camera app to sit alongside other modes such as portrait, slow motion and time-lapse. The mode allows users to take a photo that has a digital signature to prove its provenance, including the pixels that were captured in the original image and where and when the photo was taken.”

By partnering with Qualcomm, one of the largest smartphone chipmakers, this deal is a huge win for Truepic. Thanks to Qualcomm’s reach, the technology will hopefully have a meaningful impact in the fight against shallow and deepfakes.