Using Blockchain Technology to Prevent Disinformation

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 23, 266 - 303, 31.01.2025

Bahar Kayıhan

https://doi.org/10.37679/trta.1560520

Öz

Blockchain, a decentralized, distributed, and public digital ledger that has been active since 2008 in many fields such as finance, health, and education, can provide solutions to various problems in society. Although the number of studies in the literature on these different applications of blockchain is increasing by the day, it can be seen that there are not many studies that focus on the use of blockchain in the field of journalism, more specifically on its potential to prevent disinformation. On the contrary, it can be argued that blockchain has a significant potential for both transforming journalism and preventing disinformation. For this reason, this study aims to show what kind of function blockchain can have in preventing disinformation. For this purpose, the meta-synthesis method was used to review the studies on blockchain technology in the prevention of disinformation, as well as the studies close to the topic that are considered to contribute to the study. As a result of this study based on decentralization theories, it is understood that blockchain can be effective in preventing disinformation due to its features such as decentralization, immutability, transparency, smart contracts, anonymous content, digital identity, distributed ledger technologies, DAOs, rating systems.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Blockchain, Disinformation, Fake news, Blockchain journalism, Artificial intelligence

Dezenformasyonun Önlenmesine Yönelik Blok Zinciri Teknolojisinin Kullanımı

Öz

2008 yılından itibaren finans, sağlık, eğitim gibi pek çok alanda kullanımı aktif hale gelen merkeziyetsiz, dağıtık ve halka açık bir dijital defter olan blok zincirinin toplumdaki çeşitli sorunlara yönelik çözümler sunabileceği söylenebilir. Blok zincirinin bu farklı kullanım alanlarına yönelik olarak literatürdeki çalışmalar her geçen gün artıyor olsa da blok zincirinin gazetecilik alanındaki kullanımına odaklanan, daha spesifik olarak ise dezenformasyonu önleme potansiyeline odaklanan çalışmaların fazla olmadığı görülmektedir. Buna karşın, blok zincirinin hem gazeteciliğin dönüşümü açısından hem de dezenformasyonu engellemeye yönelik önemli bir potansiyele sahip olduğu söylenebilir. Bu nedenle bu çalışmada blok zincirinin, dezenformasyonun önlenmesinde ne gibi bir fonksiyonu olabileceğini açığa çıkarmak amaçlanmıştır. Bunun için meta-sentez yöntemi ile dezenformasyonu önlemede blok zinciri teknolojisini konu alan çalışmalar ve çalışmaya katkı sağlayabileceği düşünülen konuya yakın çalışmalar incelenmiştir. Merkeziyetsizlik kuramlarından yola çıkılan bu çalışmanın sonucunda, merkeziyetsizlik, değiştirilemezlik, şeffaflık, akıllı sözleşmeler, anonim içerik, dijital kimlik, dağıtık defter teknolojileri, DAO’lar, derecelendirme sistemleri gibi özellikleri sayesinde blok zincirinin, dezenformasyonun önlenmesinde etkili olabileceği anlaşılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Blok zinciri, Dezenformasyon, Sahte haber, Blok zinciri gazeteciliği, Yapay zekâ

Kaynakça

• Agrawal, P., Anjana, P. S., & Peri, S. (2021). DeHiDe: Deep Learning-based Hybrid Model to Detect Fake News using Blockchain. In Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Distributed Computing and Networking (pp. 245-246).
• Alexandrescu, A., & Butincu, C. N. (2023). Decentralized news-retrieval architecture using blockchain technology. Mathematics, 11(21), 4542.
• Al-Saqaf, W. (2019). A blockchain-based fact-checking registry: Enhancing trust in the fact-checkers. In Conference for Truth and Trust Online, London, October 4-5, 2019.
• Al-Saqaf, W., & Edwardsson, M. P. (2019). Could blockchain save journalism? An explorative study of blockchain’s potential to make journalism a more sustainable business. In Blockchain and Web 3.0 (pp. 97-113). Routledge.
• Al-Saqaf, W., & Edwardsson, M. P. (2019). Could blockchain save journalism? An explorative study of blockchain’s potential to make journalism a more sustainable business. In Blockchain and Web 3.0 (pp. 97-113). Routledge.
• Araghi, T. K., Megías, D., Garcia-Font, V., Kuribayashi, M., & Mazurczyk, W. (2024). Disinformation detection and source tracking using semi-fragile watermarking and blockchain. In European Interdisciplinary Cybersecurity Conference (pp. 136-143).
• Arquam, M., Singh, A., & Sharma, R. (2021). A blockchain-based secured and trusted framework for information propagation on online social networks. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 11(1), 49.
• Buțincu, C. N., & Alexandrescu, A. (2023). Blockchain-based platform to fight disinformation using crowd wisdom and artificial intelligence. Applied Sciences, 13(10), 6088.
• Cheema, G. S., & Rondinelli, D. A. (2007). From Government Decentralization to Decentralized Governance. In G. Bertucci & M. S. Senese (Eds.), Decentrlizing Governance Emerging Concepts and Practoces (pp. 1-20). Washington,D.C: Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Inovation.
• DiCicco, K. W., & Agarwal, N. (2020). Blockchain technology-based solutions to fight misinformation: a survey. Disinformation, Misinformation, and Fake News in Social Media: Emerging Research Challenges and Opportunities, 267-281.
• Fraga-Lamas, P., & Fernandez-Carames, T. M. (2020). Fake news, disinformation, and deepfakes: Leveraging distributed ledger technologies and blockchain to combat digital deception and counterfeit reality. IT professional, 22(2), 53-59.
• Gadekallu, T. R., Wang, W., Yenduri, G., Ranaweera, P., Pham, Q. V., da Costa, D. B., & Liyanage, M. (2023). Blockchain for the metaverse: A review. Future Generation Computer Systems, 143, 401-419.
• Guerar, M., & Migliardi, M. (2022). TruthSeekers Chain: leveraging Invisible CAPPCHA, SSI and Blockchain to combat disinformation on social media. In International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications (pp. 419-431). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• Hasan, H. R., & Salah, K. (2019). Combating deepfake videos using blockchain and smart contracts. Ieee Access, 7, 41596-41606.
• Hisseine, M. A., Chen, D., & Yang, X. (2022). The application of blockchain in social media: a systematic literature review. Applied Sciences, 12(13), 6567.
• Hou, X. (2023). Towards Transparency and Security: An Analysis of the Application of Blockchain in Digital Journalism. Academic Journal of Science and Technology, 4(3), 80-84.
• Hölbl, M., Kompara, M., Kamišalić, A., & Nemec Zlatolas, L. (2018). A systematic review of the use of blockchain in healthcare. Symmetry, 10(10), 470.
• Huckle, S., & White, M. (2017). Fake news: A technological approach to proving the origins of content, using blockchains. Big data, 5(4), 356-371.
• Iansiti, M., & Lakhani, K. R. (2017). The truth about blockchain. Harvard business review, 95(1), 118-127.
• Ivancsics, B. (2019). Blockchain in journalism. Tow Center for Digital Journalism A Tow/Knight Report. Columbia Journalism School.
• Jurado, F., Delgado, O., & Ortigosa, Á. (2020). Tracking news stories using blockchain to guarantee their traceability and information analysis. IJIMAI, 6(3), 39-46.
• Kim, B., & Yoon, Y. (2018). Journalism model based on blockchain with sharing space. Symmetry, 11(1), 19.
• Li, C., & Palanisamy, B. (2019). Incentivized blockchain-based social media platforms: A case study of steemit. In Proceedings of the 10th ACM conference on web science (pp. 145-154).
• Liu, Y., Hao, X., Ren, W., Xiong, R., Zhu, T., Choo, K. K. R., & Min, G. (2022). A blockchain-based decentralized, fair and authenticated information sharing scheme in zero trust internet-of-things. IEEE Transactions on Computers, 72(2), 501-512.
• Loukil, F., Abed, M., & Boukadi, K. (2021). Blockchain adoption in education: A systematic literature review. Education and information technologies, 26(5), 5779-5797.
• Marbouh, D., Abbasi, T., Maasmi, F., Omar, I. A., Debe, M. S., Salah, K., ... & Ellahham, S. (2020). Blockchain for Kovid-19: review, opportunities, and a trusted tracking system. Arabian journal for science and engineering, 45, 9895-9911.
• Olivella, M. S., i Comas, E. X., & Yeste, E. (2020). Blockchain al servicio del periodismo de calidad. El caso Civil. El profesional de la información, 29(5), 28.
• Panigrahi, S., Rai, A. K., Rajput A. K., Bhardwaj, A. (2022). Fake News Detection Using Blockchain. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology. (IJRASET) Volume 10 Issue III, 2442-2445.
• Petratos, P. N., & Faccia, A. (2023). Fake news, misinformation, disinformation and supply chain risks and disruptions: risk management and resilience using blockchain. Annals of Operations Research, 327(2), 735-762.
• Pun, H., Swaminathan, J. M., & Hou, P. (2021). Blockchain adoption for combating deceptive counterfeits. Production and Operations Management, 30(4), 864-882.
• Qayyum, A., Qadir, J., Janjua, M. U., & Sher, F. (2019). Using blockchain to rein in the new post-truth world and check the spread of fake news. IT Professional, 21(4), 16-24.
• Seneviratne, O. (2022). Blockchain for social good: Combating misinformation on the web with AI and blockchain. In Proceedings of the 14th ACM Web Science Conference 2022 (pp. 435-442).
• Shae, Z., & Tsai, J. (2019). AI blockchain platform for trusting news. In 2019 IEEE 39th International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS) (pp. 1610-1619). IEEE.
• Sintes-Olivella, M., Xicoy Comas, E., & Yeste Piquer, E. (2020). Blockchain al servicio del periodismo de calidad. El caso Civil. El Profesional de la información, vol. 29, núm. 5, 2020.
• Swan, M. (2017). Anticipating the economic benefits of blockchain. Technology innovation management review, 7(10), 6-13.
• Sylim, P., Liu, F., Marcelo, A., & Fontelo, P. (2018). Blockchain technology for detecting falsified and substandard drugs in distribution: pharmaceutical supply chain intervention. JMIR research protocols, 7(9), e10163.
• Szabo N (1997) Smart contracts: formalizing and securing relationships on public networks. First Monday 2(9). doi:10.5210/fm. v2i9.548
• Tapscott, A., & Tapscott, D. (2017). How blockchain is changing finance. Harvard Business Review, 1(9), 2-5.
• Teixeira, L., Amorim, I., Silva, A. U., Lopes, J. C., & Filipe, V. (2020). A new approach to crowd journalism using a blockchain-based infrastructure. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Advances in Mobile Computing & Multimedia (pp. 170-178).
• Teixeira, L., Amorim, I., Silva, A. U., Lopes, J. C., & Filipe, V. (2020). A new approach to crowd journalism using a blockchain-based infrastructure. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Advances in Mobile Computing & Multimedia (pp. 170-178).
• Torky, M., Nabil, E., & Said, W. (2019). Proof of credibility: A blockchain approach for detecting and blocking fake news in social networks. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 10(12).
• Upadhyay, A., & Baranwal, G. (2021). Fake news detection using ethereum blockchain. In International Conference on Advanced Network Technologies and Intelligent Computing (pp. 142-152). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• Veit, M. (2019). Blockchain and journalism: The intersection between blockchain-based technology and freedom of the press (Doctoral dissertation, Global Campus of Human Rights).
• Waghmare, A. D., & Patnaik, G. K. (2021). Fake news detection of social media news in blockchain framework. Indian J. Comput. Sci. Eng, 12(4), 972-980.
• Walsh, D., & Downe, S. (2005). Meta-synthesis method for qualitative research: a literature review. Journal of advanced nursing, 50(2), 204-211.
• Xu, X., Weber, I., & Staples, M. (2019). Architecture for blockchain applications (pp. 1-307). Cham: Springer.