ZK-JPEG: Zero-Knowledge Image Editing and Compression

Even a camera obscura with a strip of film inside contains some adjustment to the "actual" image. If I expose the film for longer/shorter or during differing weather conditions, or near a train, etc, the developed film is going to have an appearance that may tinge the viewers perception of the subject. A short exposure, slightly off tilt, during a partially cloudy day, and a 'proper' exposure, rightly aligned, during full sun at noon, both of the same subject, both taken as soon as the photographer could to meet the deadline, both published on the front page of a newpaper, will give readers wildly different tastes for the subject.

Even two different b/w films will have different brightness/contrast etc, and the color films vary even more, with some punching various red/blue/green levels.

That's all without necessary deliberate intervention of the photographer. Once you get in to artistic license, you've got an even wider range. Taken from a low angle to add gravitas, taken from a high angle to minimize chin and highlight chest, with special lights to deepen shadows, with/without normal/stage makeup to add anything from regality to poverty. Taken in one's very nicest clothing, with family that is never around, while everyone has a congenial expression. (Aww, look at this lovely family)(look at the grand barren desert monument off in the wild dunes that is clearly not littered with tourists and a short walk from downtown cairo) This is easily noticeable if you've seen both a wedding and it's final professional photos. The lights didn't look like that. Where'd the audience around their first dance go? Holy shit, she looked good, but not that good.

Many have often taken photography as if it offers a genuine view of a thing at a time. We even sometimes call historical representations "snapshots". But it's never been the case.

Not sure I'd really call any photo a fake per se, they're all just representations. I suppose the fakeness comes from outside the image: the framing. If one edits a picture of a park and says "come to Always Sunny Perfect Awesomeville Where it Never Rains and is Always Full of Butterflies", then one has lied as it definitely rains there and there's certainly not always butterflies. One producing a deepfake is doing the same: capturing something they'd like captured. If it is represented as a photograph, then, sure, there's a lie; there was no photograph. But both the image with the clothes on (with lighting, editting, and makeup) and without are the same "here's what I thought it should look like" rather than "here's an exact transcript of the actual arrangement of this particular band of the electromagnetic spectrum that would have met my eye at the time"

"Hey, do me a favor, wear this hoodie and go hand this plastic baggie with white powder in it to that guy over there, it's for an art project, he's going to act like he doesn't know you, and then you just run in the opposite direction to where you'll be payed"

Or "here's three photos of XYZ taken on three seperate days at his new favorite coffee shop, notably across from this elementary school. Read on for our take on why he likes this shop so much!"

Or even something as simple as positioning the camera just so that one national head appears shorter than another. Or, in an interview, adjusting lights on the 'hero' to make them look good and highlight the shadows on the 'villain' to make them look ominous.

Use a mirror set up to make it look to the 'villain' that they are making eye contact but are instead looking weirdly askance.

Limitations are the origin of creativity. Force publishing RAW would just force journalists to be more creative in their framing.

Also, no edits for filesize? Lossless RAWs are huge! Especially from professional cameras. You could end up loading a gig of data for a single article with 10 images, or even more for larger frames. The few who care enough to see the 'real' image (that is still tainted by photographer intent regardless of file size and editting) are motivated enough to click the lossy jpg for the raw. Those who do not care aren't going to sit waiting on the order of minutes to see the first image.

Provide the raw original, and the exact processing steps used to get the presentable one.

You cannot replace honesty with tech.

† https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlarger