Researchers from the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering are spearheading a pioneering solution against the spread of fake news, leveraging blockchain technology.
This system integrates blockchain's inherent security features with human intelligence. The researchers aim to instill greater trust in the news consumers encounter, the Waterloo News reported.
Leveraging Blockchain to Fight Disinformation
The threat posed by fake news and disinformation to democratic processes is real. It has been reported that fake news may have influenced pivotal political events such as the Brexit vote and the 2016 US presidential election.
The Waterloo research team, led by Chien-Chih Chen, a PhD candidate in electrical and computer engineering, has spent three years developing a unique system composed of three key elements.
The system begins with the publication of a news article on a decentralized platform underpinned by blockchain technology. This platform creates an open and unchangeable ledger of all transactions linked to news articles, making it exceptionally challenging for users to manipulate or distort information.
While blockchains are renowned for securing cryptocurrency transactions, Chen asserted that they can equally fortify his system for verifying news.
The second component involves human input through a quorum of validators. These individuals are motivated by rewards or penalties to determine the veracity of the news articles they review.
The quorum is drawn from the larger user community on the platform, and it may consist of individuals randomly selected from those interested in validating news stories or those with a proven track record of authenticating news.
The consensus among the quorum is instrumental in determining the article's accuracy. It serves as the basis for either validating or flagging the report as fake news.
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How Validators Do Their Work
Chen clarified that validators in alignment with the majority consensus receive rewards, while those disseminating false or misleading information face penalties, which may be in the form of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, or XRP.
For an article to gain credibility on the platform, it must garner concurrence from the majority of validators regarding accuracy. Authors of validated articles may receive rewards through the entropy-based incentive mechanism.
Conversely, if an article is unmasked as fake news, its author may be subjected to penalties. Furthermore, the entropy measure imparts to end-users an understanding of the level of uncertainty associated with the output.
Despite having developed an initial prototype and achieving promising early results, the system is still in the stages of refinement prior to practical implementation.
Ripple Labs Inc., a prominent provider of cryptocurrency solutions for businesses, is sponsoring the Waterloo research. Chen maintained a positive outlook on the system's prospective deployment in the years ahead, believing it harbors the capacity to offer a robust solution to the prevalent issue of fake news.
"We are confident our system has the potential to be applied in practical situations within the next few years. We believe it can provide a robust solution to fake news. I hope my research can impact the world to make a positive difference," Chen noted.
