How to check who published a video
By José Manuel Ramírez Sánchez ·
In short
There are three ways, from weakest to strongest: find where it first appeared, read its metadata or Content Credentials (C2PA) if the file still has them, and check a signature embedded in the signal itself, such as Kernel's. The last one doesn't depend on metadata, which is usually lost when the file is shared on social media or messaging apps.
1. Find where it first appeared
Run a reverse image search on a few frames of the video, look at which account posted it, how long it has existed, and whether the official channels of the person in it have shared it.
It's quick and often enough to rule out a hoax, but it only tells you where the video travelled, not who recorded or published it. And a new video may have no earlier trace.
2. Read its metadata and Content Credentials
Many files carry metadata: camera, date, editing software. The C2PA standard goes further: a cryptographically signed manifest, Content Credentials, that says who created the file and how it was edited. Public verifiers can read it.
The limit is that it travels in the metadata. Many platforms strip it when they re-encode the file, and a screenshot or a screen recording loses it entirely. If it's missing, you can't conclude anything.
3. Check a signature inside the signal
A cryptographic watermark is written into the audio and the video themselves, not next to them. With Kernel, the publisher signs the file with their digital identity and the signature stays in the signal, built for everyday compression, re-encoding and metadata stripping.
To check it, upload the file on the verification page: it's free and needs no account. The result is given channel by channel: Verified if the audio and the video carry a valid signature, Attested if only one of them does, and No Kernel mark detected if neither does. When there is a signature, you see who made it and their organization.
What the result means, and what it doesn't
A Verified result proves who signed the content. It doesn't say whether what it shows is true: that is still journalism's job.
Not finding a signature doesn't mean the video is fake. It means nobody signed it with Kernel, or heavy editing removed the signature. AI detectors try something else, guessing whether content is synthetic, and their answer is an estimate that can be wrong.
Try it with a file
Verifying is free and needs no account.
Verify a fileFrequently asked questions
Is an unsigned video fake?
No. It only means it doesn't carry a Kernel signature: it may never have been signed, or heavy editing may have removed it.
Do I need an account to check a video?
No. Public verification is free and needs no sign-up. Only signing is paid.
What if the video has been cropped or heavily edited?
Heavy editing can remove the signature from one channel or both. That's why the audio and the video are checked separately and the result says which one still carries it.