LKS, a blockchain firm from Italy, created a non-fungible token (NFT)-based system, for allegedly preventing the spread of fake news.
Italian Firm Claims Its Non-Fungible Tokens Can Tackle Fake News https://t.co/ADNMzZg7Wi pic.twitter.com/oyBWUMS0bQ — Lisa Byrne (@Lisaballista) April 14, 2020
On April 14, it has been reported in an announcement that other than countering fake news, the system of LKS also protects the copyright of digital content.
However, an LKS spokesman confirmed that the system creates an NFT that contains the identity of the publisher, publishing time and a link to the original source.
The token confirms the identity of the author, which is established through Know Your Customer procedures during the registration needed to use the system, while the transaction timestamp proves publishing time.
It has been analyzed that articles are processed by a non-reversible mathematical function which creates an alphanumeric string, a hash, which is then saved on-chain. If a single character of the article is edited, the hash changes and the hash saved on the blockchain can prove that the article changed.
Similarly, when a publisher edits an article, he/she releases a new NFT with an updated hash linked to the older one.
Omar Baruzzo, the foundation founder of LKS, said that blockchain is a good fit for such a project because of the immutability and traceability of transactions.
Baruzzo added:
“[Those features allow] to create a process that can trace back to the user the responsibility of posting a content, therefore dissuading lying and permitting to understand exactly who said something and when.”
Likewise, LKS plans to launch a first version of the system shortly on blockchain-enabled social media platform Cam.TV.
In the future, the firm plans to create a new version of it that also features notarization on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain.
As per the report, ANSA, Italy’s top news agency, recently launched its own blockchain-enabled content tracking system dubbed ANSAcheck. The system employs tokens created on the Ethereum blockchain to track publication and editing.
As the LKS’ project is similar to ANSAcheck, Baruzzo said that there are major differences between the two systems.
Thus, he added:
“ANSA check just certifies […] that an article is stored in ANSA’s database. [Our system] will certify the existence of ANY content (news, but also content to protect), explicitly linking the content to the user […] using a public blockchain to notarize the process.”
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Axios
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