As AI-generated content floods platforms and deepfakes proliferate, individuals and brands are strategically documenting, labeling, and asserting their authenticity through verifiable methods—physical artifacts, process documentation, source disclosure. Artists share sketches; journalists cite primary sources; creators label AI-generated work. This is distinct from traditional 'authentic branding'—it's a defensive posture, a way to assert 'this is real' in a landscape where fakeness is assumed as default. The burden of proof has shifted from skeptics to creators.