23.5.2026 by Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief - This week, at our annual London offsite meeting of senior Guardian editors from across our global offices, we listened to a talk from our global head of photography, Fiona Shields, who explained how the role of the picture editor has been transformed by the rise of generative artificial intelligence.
Being able to verify whether a photo is real or not has become a critical and time-consuming part of the picture editor’s job. So how do they do it? Fiona explained that it is mainly through a combination of an experienced professional eye and contacts in the field – so-called AI verification tools aren’t yet fit for purpose. A recent example of a picture on our website that a reader thought was AI-generated is the one above of people standing next to remnants of a huge unexploded missile in the West Bank. Our editors confirmed it was real because other photographers were there and had captured similar images.
Understanding the art and skill of photography is important. Guardian Australia’s picture editor Carly Earl presents a monthly video series in which she guides viewers through her favourite recent pictures and the techniques with which they were taken. If you’re interested in how great images are created, it’s a must-watch. This week, Carly teamed up with Matilda Boseley for this very funny video in which they took a test set by the University of New South Wales to see how hard it is to recognise pictures created by AI. Would expertise beat the vibe-checks of an internet addict?
As genAI gets exponentially better at producing images, spotting them is going to get even harder. We’ve even seen recent cases where photos submitted by official sources have had to be retracted, because they had been made using AI. It’s likely going to be impossible to get it right 100% of the time, but we know our reputation depends on being as diligent as possible and quick to correct any errors.
Fiona highlighted another problem caused by artificial pictures: we are now regularly sent messages from readers concerned, even certain, that genuine images we’ve published have been made or altered by AI, like this shocking image released by a UK animal protection charity of 87 dogs crammed into a single room.
Rather than policing fakes, our picture editors would much rather use their time commissioning some of the best photographers in the world to go out into the field. Thankfully they’re still able to do that. Alessio Mamo has been producing incredible work from Ukraine and the Middle East for the Guardian over the last few years. This week Alessio and our reporter Lorenzo Tondo were named as recipients of the Ryszard Kapuściński prize, which honours journalists and photographers who have distinguished themselves through their reporting from war zones and humanitarian crises.