Reuters is testing a new blockchain tool to verify images.

This process is a collaboration with Canon cameras and is implemented as follows: When taking a photo, Canon cameras automatically assign a unique identifier to each image, including its time, date, and location. This data is then cryptographically signed to establish its authenticity.

Illustration photo: Unsplash

These images are then registered on a public ledger (blockchain) along with any subsequent modifications from Reuters' image management team. This continues until the news agency distributes the image with all the metadata, editing history, and blockchain registration embedded within it. To verify the image, news users can compare the unique identifier (hash value) on the public ledger.

To explain it more simply, a blockchain is a growing list of records – called blocks – that are encrypted and linked. Each block also contains a timestamp and other information about the origin of the data.

By design, blockchain is resistant to modification of the data it contains, which can be useful when we need to protect news content from being falsified.

Another advantage of data stored on a blockchain is that it has already been recorded and verified by other users, whether human or computer.

This is especially important because people are increasingly concerned about their ability to distinguish between real and fake news on the internet. Advances in AI have made creating and spreading fake or misinformation easier and cheaper than ever before.

The drawback is that this verification process requires a fairly good understanding of blockchain technology, a skill that the average reader would find difficult to acquire.

Another drawback is that this technology is underpinned by a decentralized system relying on billions of energy-intensive computers. While it's difficult to calculate the carbon footprint of this new tool, any benefits it offers in combating misinformation may need to be weighed.

Mai Anh (according to Journalism)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/reuters-thu-nghiem-cong-cu-blockchain-moi-de-xac-thuc-hinh-anh-post263320.html