Founder · Research
Sascha Deforth
Sascha Deforth founded TrueSource AI and has been researching since 2026 how generative AI systems can be influenced by signed provenance data; the project is certified by Germany's BSFZ. He previously worked for 36 years as a commercial photographer.
His practice at TrueSource counts more than 450 AI-visibility audits.
He authored the IETF Internet-Draft draft-deforth-arp-reasoning-protocol (Agentic Reasoning Protocol) and the open specifications VibeTags and Brand Reasoning; the draft is a subject of his research, not a ratified standard.
- RoleFounder of TrueSource AI; research as sole proprietor Sascha Deforth
- ResearchBSFZ-certified project, decision of 12 August 2026
- PracticeMore than 450 AI-visibility audits since 2024, with a focus on regulated industries and e-commerce
- Before36 years as a commercial photographer; photo designer, Lette Verein Berlin, 1997
Research
The project is titled "A method for the reproducible, provenance-bound influence of the response behaviour of generative AI systems via a declarative, signed entity manifest" (original title in German).
The German certification body for the research allowance (Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage, BSFZ) certified it on 12 August 2026. The question behind it: can the response behaviour of generative AI systems be influenced reproducibly and in a provenance-bound way when an entity publishes a signed manifest? The experiment runs as a randomised comparison across several AI systems, with pre-registered hypotheses. A negative result is a result.
The pilot study was Phantom Authority. In April 2026, AI systems ingested and cited websites that had no visible text, only machine-readable data. The post Vom Stunt zum Experiment (German) describes the path from stunt to certified research.
Das BSFZ-Siegel bescheinigt Unternehmen, die mindestens einen positiven Bescheid durch die Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage (BSFZ) erhalten haben, ihre FuE-Tätigkeit. (The BSFZ seal certifies the R&D activity of companies that have received at least one positive decision from the German certification body for the research allowance.)Holder: sole proprietorship Sascha Deforth
TrueSource AI
TrueSource AI is his consulting practice, founded in 2024. It tests whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other generative systems can reach, understand, verify and cite a brand, and delivers the code to fix what is missing.
More than 450 audits have been completed since then, many of them in regulated industries and e-commerce. The methodology is public. The legal entity is Sascha Deforth, sole proprietor, in Grevenbroich near Düsseldorf.
Drafts and specifications
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Agentic Reasoning Protocol (ARP)
Machine-readable reasoning directives for AI agents, published as reasoning.json under /.well-known/. Individual submission to the IETF, not a standard.
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Phantom Authority
An experiment on whether AI systems ingest and cite websites that consist of machine-readable data only. Pilot study for the certified project.
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Brand Reasoning
An open discipline specification for provable brand claims towards AI systems and people. Defines the role of the Brand Reasoning Manager.
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VibeTags
An open standard for brand context in AI search. Implemented as a Schema.org extension.
Before: photography
For 36 years he worked as a commercial photographer for brands and companies. The studio is in Grevenbroich near Düsseldorf. He completed his training as a photo designer at Lette Verein Berlin in 1997.
That eye for brands has stayed. Photography as a profession is closed; the archive lives at saschadeforth.de.