Call for User Study Participants

A Short Survey For Journalists about Digital Trust & Website Displays

AI generated media, deepfakes, and doctored images are making headlines almost daily. Media and news sites must address new questions about the origins and creation of digital media. News consumers and online readers are becoming less and less confident, wondering if the images and videos they see are actually an AI generated hallucination or a doctored image designed to misinform.

Help us by taking this survey, and (optionally, at the end of the form) volunteer for a 30 minute user interview to add your perspective on how we can most effectively communicate information about the authenticity of digital media.

Starling Lab is working to bridge the gap between those who are experts in cryptography and data provenance with everyday readers of online content. Coordinating with Georgia Tech graduate students Kenneth Chen and Chris Hovey on this project, we are working on the analysis and design of user interface (UI) displays in news articles that communicate additional information about the source, provenance, and changes made to photographs and other assets in online publications.

Chen and Hovey designed prompts that aim to convey information and encourage inspection

Some of the question we are exploring are:

• What do readers want to see that will help them understand the contents and source of a photograph?

• What information is valuable front and center, and what information should only be revealed to those who want a deeper dive?

• How can we assist and enhance the process of inspecting and verifying information about photographs?

• Can we draw readers into an informed and critical inspection of the provenance of digital media?

• What is the best way to display information about the authenticity of an image without overwhelming users?

• How can we best communicate technical information, and why it is relevant to the user?

By experimenting, gathering feedback, and using an iterative process to incorporate it, we hope to be able to deepen both trust in media, and an understanding of the capture, store, verify framework for authenticity. The cryptographic tools and authentication workflows are nuanced and complex, and the right presentation is key to encourage critical readership and help users to understand how distributed tools add value to the journalistic process.

Take the survey to view and give your feedback on earlier authenticity displays. The last part of the form has an optional section where you can elect to participate in a user interview.