Adam Mosseri: Can't Trust Your Eyes in the AI Era Now

• Instagram head Adam Mosseri warns AI-generated “infinite synthetic content” makes photos and videos unreliable.
• Mosseri says platforms must add labels, creator verification and credibility signals while improving tools for original creators.
• He expects a long shift from default visual trust to starting with skepticism and paying attention to who shares content and why.

Why Mosseri says images aren’t inherently trustworthy

Adam Mosseri closed out 2025 with a 20-image slideshow describing an era of “infinite synthetic content” where distinguishing real photos and videos from AI-generated ones is increasingly difficult.

“For most of my life I could safely assume photographs or videos were largely accurate captures of moments that happened. This is clearly no longer the case and it’s going to take us years to adapt,” Mosseri wrote.

What Instagram plans to do

Mosseri outlined a short roadmap for how Instagram — and by implication other platforms — should evolve to maintain trust and originality on feeds.

Labeling AI-generated content

He called for clear labels on synthetic content so users know when images or video have been generated or heavily altered by AI tools.

Verification and credibility signals

Mosseri urged stronger verification for authentic creators and mechanisms to surface credibility signals about who is posting. He recommended users start “with skepticism” and pay attention to source and intent.

Better creative tools and ranking for originality

He said platforms need to “build the best creative tools” and to “continue to improve ranking for originality,” signaling a push to reward human-made and unique content in recommendation algorithms.

What this means for creators and users

The practical result will be a slower, multi-year transition in how we consume visual media online. Mosseri expects people will move “from assuming what we see is real by default, to starting with skepticism.”

Creators may face pressure to show provenance, add context, or emphasize traces of real capture as credibility signals. Platforms will need to balance supporting creative AI tools while clearly distinguishing synthetic work.

Takeaway

The rise of high-quality AI images forces a cultural and technical shift: platforms like Instagram will need labels, verification and ranking changes, and users will have to learn to verify sources rather than trust visuals automatically.