How does a brand stay relevant for more than 150 years?
Leica shows you how — and yes, it has to do with fake news
Photography buffs will recognise the image I used for this post in the blink of an eye. It is taken by war photographer Robert Capa. It captures a dramatic moment in the Spanish civil war, when a freedom fighter is shot.* Almost as famous as the photograph and the photographer is the camera that was used to capture it: the Leica M series.
As one of the first reliable 35mm cameras, it was compact enough for reporters to carry on their risky missions. And the optical quality of the lenses met the most demanding newspaper standards. It became the weapon of choice for the biggest names in photography: Magnum Founder Henri-Cartier Bresson, Annie Leibovitz, Ernest Hemingway and Sebastião Salgado, to name a few.
Surviving the Digital Storm
When digital photography happened, the analogue camera brands suffered. Nikon, Canon Inc. and Leica struggled to survive. They lost a battle on two fronts. They were hurt by Sony in the professional market and by virtually any smartphone on the amateur market. Other household names lost the war and went bust. Minolta, Yashica, Olympus, Rollei cameras didn't survive the digital transformation.
Luckily, the strong brands bounced back. Nikon and Canon mastered digital tech. With success: today, they have cameras that are up there with the Sony system cameras. And they have something Sony doesn’t: the best lenses a pro photographer could wish for.
Leica did something different. They did some soul searching to rediscover what they were always about. They found their purpose: helping reporters around the world use images to reveal the truth.
One of the most pressing issues these reporters are facing today? Fake images. These include AI-generated images, old images claimed to be new, and Photoshop-manipulated images.
Credible Content
That's why Leica just launched the world’s 1st Camera with built-in Content Credentials. To do so, Leica added the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) framework to its camera. Adobe co-founded this standard in 2019. It aims to fight misinformation and credit creators for their work. Today, the CAI is a coalition of nearly 2,000 members. It includes Leica Camera, AFP, the AP, the BBC, Getty Images, Microsoft, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and others. They work together to add a verifiable layer of trust to online content. They do this using secure metadata called Content Credentials.
Each image will get a digital signature. You can check its authenticity by verifying the production time, the author, and any photo-editing. This info is in the signature, too.
“Leica cameras have always stood witness to iconic moments in world history. However, determining the authenticity of visual content has become increasingly difficult and important in the age of digital photography. Now with the ability to provide this proof, we are once again strengthening trust in digital content and re-establishing Leica cameras as authoritative tools in the documentation of world events.”
Will that be enough to fight fake news? Hardly.
Is digital signage the way forward to tell fact from fake? Likely.
Does Leica understand its core and the role it can play in today's society? Totally!
* When I posted this story on Linkedin, Art Director Paul Popelier pointed out that the image from Capa is generally considered a fake itself. Though I had seen the picture In Real Life and while I knew Capa’s pictures from the landing in Normandy were often doubted, I never questioned the authenticity of the
Civil War picture. An article in the Times confirms that the picture is actually a fake itself. While certainly ironic, it certainly proves the point that the problem is real and Leica is doing its part in fighting it.