An open source content filtering extension, the Adblock Plus is set to join the fight against fake news. The company behind the extension, Eyeo, will start using blockchain in its new product called the ‘Trusted News’, TechCrunch reports. The extension was launched in the beta version and is currently only available for Chrome.
According to the official information on the expansion, it is able to distinguish fake news and reliable. After adding the extension to the browser, it will start displaying a small window where it will summaries the origin of the source assigning ratings such as “satire”, “biased”, “malicious”, “clickbait” or “user-generated content”.
The extension works using the MetaCert protocol, which maintains a registry of trusted URLs. In the future, the database will be moved to Ethereum blockchain. With its help, the database will be updated daily without the need for central servers. The company also plans to issue MetaCert tokens to combat data manipulation in the system and to reward active users. Eyeo does not plan to monetize its expansion.
Ben Williams, the company’s director of ecosystems, said that Trusted News will have a feedback option to allow users to raise issues up for revision. This was done to add transparency to the process.
“What we want to do, and where the blockchain comes in, is we want to move that over to incorporate users’ feedback as well. So initially what we’re going to do in a few weeks is incorporate something where users can just provide feedback through the extension. And they can dispute something,” he explained.
Williams also stressed that the project is currently under testing, and Eyeo is trying to determine how useful the new solution will be for the users.
By Ekaterina Ulyanova