Instagram chief warns AI will make feeds fake—creators must fight for authenticity

In a 20-slide New Year post, Mosseri reflected on how sharing personal moments online has evolved, particularly amid the surge of AI-generated images and videos. The creation of highly realistic AI content has made it increasingly challenging for Instagram to manage, filter, and promote high-quality posts.

“Relatively quickly, AI will create any aesthetic you like, including an imperfect one that presents as authentic. At that point, we'll need to shift our focus to who says something instead of what is being said,” Mosseri wrote.

He noted that for most of his life, photographs and videos could be assumed to accurately capture real moments, but “this is clearly no longer the case, and it's going to take us years to adapt.”

Mosseri also warned that Instagram may “get worse” at identifying AI content over time as AI technology continues to advance. “It will be more practical to fingerprint real media than fake media,” he said.

Despite these challenges, Mosseri believes creators will continue to thrive if they “maintain trust and signal authenticity.”

He added, “Authenticity is becoming a scarce resource, driving more demand for creator content, not less. The bar is shifting from ‘can you create?’ to ‘can you make something that only you can create?’”

To address the challenges posed by AI, Mosseri suggested that camera manufacturers may cryptographically sign images at capture, creating a chain of custody for content.

However, he emphasized that “labelling is only part of the solution” and stressed the importance of transparency about accounts sharing content. “We need to surface much more context about the accounts sharing content so people can make informed decisions. Who is behind the account?”

Mosseri concluded, “Instagram is going to have to evolve in a number of ways, and fast.”