Blockchain is best known as the technology behind cryptocurrencies, but its design principles can be applied to many other industries and sectors. In journalism, for example, blockchain is being used to secure timestamped records of a story’s publication and to track the provenance of ads. It has also been paired with verification solutions to affirm the trustworthiness of content and provide hard evidence in lawsuits.
Targeted solutions use blockchain as an add-on to a news organization’s existing infrastructure. For example, Civil’s hybrid approach combines Ethereum’s blockchain applications with a customized content management system that lets news organizations publish on the Civil network and receive token payments from readers for their stories. Civil tokens allow users to “govern” the network and propose and challenge organizational rules that guide the network’s work.
More broadly, blockchain technology could reconfigure the way journalists access government data. If governments deploy blockchains to secure public data, it could alter how FOIA requests are submitted and interpreted by citizens, including reporters. And blockchains that are paired with distributed file systems and smart contracts could reshape how public records request information is retrieved.
In the future, blockchains may be used to secure the identity of news organizations and help ensure that their digital products are authentic and untampered with. They could also be combined with other technologies to create new types of data products and services. For example, Walmart has partnered with VeChain to create a solution that tracks the origin of shrimp from farms in Andhra Pradesh, India, all the way to Sam’s Club stores in the US. The solution uses blockchain to record the shipment’s journey, enabling Walmart to validate that its supply chain partners have upheld their commitment to ethical business practices and consumer safety.
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