Person examining photographic negatives for provenance verification.

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Images cost nothing to produce now and arrive in unlimited numbers. The usual conclusion is that they have become disposable, and that being disposable, they can no longer be trusted. The facts in that description are right. The conclusion moves too fast, because trusting a photograph has always meant twoContinue Reading

An image showing a building with multiple fire damage marks and smoke in the sky, indicating a recen.

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War compresses everything, including the truth. The moment the first missile lands, demand for images spikes, while the supply stays thin. Photographers can only be in so many places, and the most newsworthy places are the hardest and most dangerous to reach. Editors need pictures in minutes, not hours. InContinue Reading

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….. if they understood what they actually have For two decades, photo agencies have been selling pixels. The price of those pixels has been falling for almost as long, and generative AI has now removed the floor entirely. The conversation inside the industry has narrowed to a single question: howContinue Reading

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The Getty–Shutterstock merger has a real competition problem. It also has no clean remedy. In June 2026, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority will render its final verdict on the Getty Images–Shutterstock merger. Based on everything that has emerged from the investigation, the most likely outcome is a yes, but.Continue Reading

AI Content Labeling for Social Platforms.

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India has implemented a new rule mandating media platforms to label AI-generated content and retain metadata, effective February 20. This regulation reflects a broader trend alongside similar policies in China and the EU, emphasizing the importance of metadata for compliance and authenticity. Platforms must adapt quickly to avoid penalties.Continue Reading

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The quest for content authenticity amidst generative AI has led to various solutions, primarily blockchain and centralized platforms. However, these often create access barriers, undermining true distributed trust. Effective trust infrastructure needs universal accessibility, avoiding monetization that limits access. Solutions must resist becoming rent-seeking mechanisms, ensuring long-term and equitable verification systems.Continue Reading

Cloudflare Gateway depicted as a digital toll booth or warehouse for internet traffic.

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Cloudflare acquired Human Native on January 15, 2026. The London startup had built a marketplace connecting content owners with AI companies seeking training data. The deal completes an 18-month infrastructure build, but the strategic question remains: is Cloudflare operating a toll booth that charges for passage, a warehouse that aggregatesContinue Reading

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The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority escalated its investigation of the Getty Images-Shutterstock merger to Phase 2 on November 3, 2025, citing concerns about “substantial lessening of competition” and potential for “higher prices” and “lower quality” content for news publishers. Three weeks later, Getty CEO Craig Peters told the FinancialContinue Reading

Colorful photography prints highlighting artistic expression and industry trends.

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AI Everywhere, But Not All the Time Every October in San Francisco, where robot taxis are busily roaming the streets, something peculiar happens. The photography industry’s old guard—print manufacturers, stock agencies, software makers—sits down with its new blood: the brilliant engineers building AI-powered photo services, mobile apps, editing tools, andContinue Reading