Cloudflare Heroically Solves Misinformation Crisis by Adding Fancy Digital Watermark No One Will Check
In a groundbreaking move sure to finally thwart the avalanche of AI-generated misinformation flooding the internet, Cloudflare has announced it will now let users add Content Credentials to images—a feature that, if history is any guide, will be ignored by 99% of people scrolling past memes at lightning speed.
Content Credentials, a sophisticated digital watermark backed by Adobe, is supposedly designed to let users know whether an image was actually taken by a human with an overpriced camera or churned out in seconds by an algorithm that barely broke a sweat. Experts at Cloudflare and Adobe insist this will ensure greater trust in visual content online—assuming, of course, that the general public can be bothered to click a verification tag instead of just instantly believing whatever nonsense image confirms their preexisting biases.
“With this feature, whenever modern internet users, known for their patience and critical thinking skills, see an image, they’ll eagerly dig into its credentials before considering it legitimate,” said a Cloudflare spokesperson while visibly struggling to say it with a straight face. “Because if there’s anything we know about the internet, it’s that people never fall for obvious lies with pretty pictures.”
Adobe’s President of Not At All Panicking About AI, Alexandra Trustington, celebrated the partnership, adding, “This initiative ensures that when you see an image of Spider-Man shaking hands with the Pope, you’ll be able to definitively prove to your uncle that it’s fake—right before he tells you the credentials were probably faked by the Deep State.”
While tech companies have touted Content Credentials as a game-changer, early reports indicate that absolutely no one beyond a small circle of digital forensics nerds and corporate PR teams actually understands how it works, let alone plans to use it. Meanwhile, misinformation remains free to roam the internet like an unvaccinated toddler in a ball pit, spreading unchecked and wildly contagious.
Despite this, Cloudflare and Adobe remain optimistic, stating that they hope “someday, possibly in a utopian future where people actually read before sharing, Content Credentials will play a key role in the battle against digital deception.” Experts say that should happen right around the same time Facebook users start fact-checking chain emails from their aunt.
