Mainstream media outlets are attempting a calculated image rehabilitation. The strategy appears straightforward: if you can't compete with independent creators and emerging platforms, adopt their aesthetic and language.

But manufactured authenticity doesn't translate to credibility.

Long-time observers won't forget the years of dismissive coverage, the condescending narratives, the institutional finger-pointing at emerging technologies and communities.

People remember. The internet remembers.

This rebranding exercise reveals a deeper challenge: trust, once fractured, requires far more than a style pivot to rebuild.