Sonia Says: Social Media Coach, Marketing Consultant

Recently, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri put words to a shift many creators, journalists, and media leaders have already been navigating:

In a world increasingly filled with AI-generated content, authenticity is no longer assumed.

That statement landed for a reason. Not because it introduced something new, but because it confirmed something fundamental about where media is headed.

This isn’t an algorithm update.
It’s a trust reckoning.

This Shift Didn’t Start With AI

Long before generative tools became widely accessible, audiences were already recalibrating how they decide what and who to believe.

We’ve seen it in:

• Journalists being questioned not just on facts, but framing
• Creators building influence without institutional backing
• Audiences following people across platforms, not brands within them

AI accelerated the timeline, but it didn’t change the underlying behavior.

When content becomes easy to produce, credibility becomes harder to earn.

Authenticity Is No Longer a Differentiator

For years, “be authentic” has been treated like advice.

Today, it’s a baseline.

If anyone can generate a convincing image, video, or caption, authenticity stops being about aesthetics or tone. It becomes about consistency, context, and intent.

Audiences are asking different questions now:

• Does this person sound like themselves over time?
• Do their takes align with what they’ve said before?
• Are they explaining why something matters, not just what happened?
• Do they show their thinking, or just the outcome?

Trust is being built or lost in the margins.

What This Means for Creators and Journalists

The creators who will grow in this next phase aren’t the most polished or the fastest to adopt new tools. They’re the ones who make their credibility legible.

That looks like:

• Explaining your perspective, not just posting conclusions
• Showing process, not just performance
• Speaking in a voice that sounds human, even when discussing complex ideas
• Being accountable to your audience, not just optimized for reach

This is especially true for journalists, who are no longer operating as one-way distributors of information. Journalism now lives inside a relationship one that requires transparency and responsiveness.

Why I’ve Always Focused on Trust First

My background in newsroom leadership shaped how I see this shift.

In newsrooms, trust isn’t abstract. It shows up in:

• Whether audiences return
• Whether they believe you in moments of uncertainty
• Whether they share your work when it actually matters

Those same dynamics now apply to creators and media brands online.

That’s why I’ve always advised teams to prioritize:

• Credibility over polish
• Context over clicks
• Relationships over reach

Platforms may change. Formats will evolve. Tools will improve.

Human behavior is far more consistent.

The Takeaway

When everything looks real, trust becomes the strategy.

Not as a slogan, but as a daily practice.

The creators, journalists, and leaders who understand this won’t just survive the next phase of media. They’ll shape it.

What I’m Watching Next

• How platforms surface signals of credibility
• How audiences reward consistency over novelty
• How journalists redefine authority in public spaces

These are the questions behind Sonia Says — and the lens I’ll keep using to make sense of where media is going next.