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In an era of rampant “fake news” allegations, Verizon is implementing a record of blockchain-verified changes to its press releases. Verizon’s Full Transparency program, announced Friday, is an open source newsroom platform designed to raise the bar of corporate responsibility.
Blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked together with cryptography. By design, the data of a blockchain cannot be changed. It is an open, digitized and distributed ledger that can record transactions or changes between two parties efficiently and securely.
By creating virtual ledgers, businesses and service providers are able to track and manage information between the various parts of a value chain. Blockchain, which was developed for bitcoin, tracks transactions as statements of facts that can be used in a digital economy by businesses, regulators, traders and consumers.
Verizon has taken these elements of the blockchain to provide a track record of the changes that have been made to its press releases or public communications. The Full Transparency initiative is a proof of concept service built in collaboration with Huge, MadNetwork and AdLedger.
Verizon said the lack of transparency has the potential to undermine corporate credibility. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2020, nearly 60% of consumers globally believe the media they consume is tainted with unreliable information, which has likely accelerated in the current electoral climate.
Full Transparency’s goal is to change the way corporate newsrooms provide visibility to their readers by holding themselves accountable for what they communicate to the public. Official press releases incorporating full transparency are tracked in the blockchain ledger, so press releases or statements can be treated as “authoritatively reflecting what they were intended to release.”
“As a technology company that literally connects people to information, we are excited to bring full transparency to market, a product that, in its own quiet way, can help ensure corporate accountability and trust,” said Jim Gerace, Verizon’s chief communications officer, in a statement. “We urge organizations around the world that reward transparency as much as we do to adopt blockchain-verified communication practices.”
All press releases posted on Verizon’s editorial site will be protected and bound using cryptographic principles so that subsequent changes can be tracked and contextualized. If a version has not been modified on the Verizon site, the Full Transparency logo appears in the upper right corner of the web page with the message “No modification”.
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“Blockchain has long been associated with cryptocurrency, but this is just the beginning of what it can do,” said Adam Helfgott, project manager at MadNetwork, in a statement. “MadNetwork is excited to empower Verizon’s approach by exploring how blockchain can be a key part of large-scale enterprise software, providing validation and authentication in the digital world.”
According to Verizon, the Full Transparency Initiative is an extension of the Citizen Verizon project, a business plan that drives economic, environmental and social progress by promoting technology as a tool to improve communities, education and the workforce.
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