Media Industry Should Use Blockchain To Counter Misinformation and Deepfake Content

Key Takeaways

• Deepfakes are rapidly advancing, posing significant risks to misinformation, political manipulation, and identity theft.
• Traditional verification methods struggle to keep pace, while blockchain offers a secure, tamper-proof solution for verifying digital content.
• Global adoption of blockchain technology is rising, providing enhanced transparency, security, and trust in combating deepfake threats.

In today’s digital world, the rapid proliferation of deepfakes – AI-generated fake videos, images, and audio – has led to significant challenges. With these content pieces becoming more convincing and accessible, the need for reliable verification technologies has never been more critical.

With its immutable and decentralized nature, blockchain technology offers a solution that ensures the integrity and authenticity of digital content as a single source of truth and trust. 

The Growing Threat of Deepfakes

Deepfakes are rapidly evolving into tools to mislead, defraud, and deceive. A few years ago, creating a deepfake by impersonating someone’s voice required around 30 minutes of audio of that person talking to train the model. Today, only a few seconds of audio is needed to impersonate someone on the fly.

Similarly, older video deepfakes couldn’t replicate details like how a person looks while blinking. These barriers have come down, and today’s models can even recreate blood flow patterns in a person’s face. The implications of this are wide-ranging:

• Misinformation and Fake News: Deepfakes spread convincing fake news, misleading the public and often causing societal unrest, especially due to the presence of social media with a large youth audience. 
• Distrust in Politicians: The political landscape is particularly vulnerable, as fake videos or audio of politicians can sway public opinion, spread misinformation, and damage reputations. Media that is not authentic can lead to real-world harm, influence elections, and, in the worst cases, provoke violence. 
• Identity Theft: Criminals can bypass security systems and commit fraud and cybercrime using fake videos and audio in a corporate setting.
• Skepticism Around Digital Media: Consumers of digital media have lost faith and trust in videos, images, and audio across news, businesses, and entertainment sectors. It has become difficult to decipher what is authentic from what’s been fabricated.

Traditional verification methods are inadequate and cannot keep pace with these evolving threats. This is where blockchain technology offers a secure and verifiable system designed to provide definitive answers to the critical question, “Is this real?”

Whether you’re verifying media content, certifications, tickets, or products, it allows people to say, “Yes, this is authentic.” Blockchain’s decentralized and immutable nature provides a robust solution for safeguarding digital integrity in an increasingly deceptive landscape.

Key Features of Blockchain-Based Authentication Solutions

The potential of blockchain to tackle these problems lies in the unique features it brings to the table:

• Blockchain Minting: Credentials are “minted” on the blockchain, creating a tamper-proof record of ownership. This guarantees media integrity, preventing alterations and ensuring content remains original and authentic.
• Multimedia Integration: Blockchain-enabled certificates can include multimedia elements like videos, audio, and images, allowing users to instantly verify content online.
• Global Distribution: Blockchain technology ensures secure global distribution of digital assets, enabling worldwide content verification and making it easier to combat deepfakes across international borders.
• AI-Powered Design: AI-powered designs created within closed systems by verified actors can include multiple parameters that enhance the potential to track content sources and authenticity. 

According to Deloitte’s 2021 Global Blockchain survey , around 40% of respondents say digital assets will significantly improve compliance and transparency, reduce risk, and enhance trust. In fact, we are already seeing the adoption of blockchain technology in various industries and use cases.

The media industry  is exploring using blockchain technology to counter challenges like misinformation and deepfake content in publicly available information. The Safepress consortium adds a blockchain-linked digital seal of approval to member publications.

Whenever these news sources are appended to stories or references, the key gets tracked, enabling consumers to trace its origin. This makes it difficult to falsify news articles.

Global Brands Adopting Blockchain Technology

In the startup ecosystem, TiE50, the annual award program for a Silicon Valley entrepreneurship organization, adopted blockchain-based awards to recognize winners, providing an innovative solution for proving their success. Similarly, the MMA SMARTIES used blockchain technology to authenticate contributions from authors, jury members, and participants, eliminating imposters and enhancing trust.

Global brands like Indri Single Malt Whisky have used blockchain-enabled certificates to verify authenticity, provenance, and proof of ownership. Each bottle of its Game of Thrones ‘House of The Dragon’ Exclusive Edition – House of Black and House of Green is equipped with a unique blockchain-enabled certificate accessible via a simple QR code scan placed on the back of the bottle, enabling instant verification.

Customers can also share this certificate on social media platforms to enhance their engagement and showcase their ownership of these coveted limited-edition bottles.

Even the art world has embraced blockchain technology, with auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s offering auctions for digital art. Each piece of art includes a tamper-proof digital certificate of authenticity, permanently recorded on the blockchain, that allows buyers to verify that they own an original piece. 

Whether it’s preventing misinformation, safeguarding political integrity, protecting personal identities, or restoring trust in digital content, blockchain technology ensures that digital assets remain secure and that every piece of content, product, or credential can be verified, trusted, and celebrated.

In doing so, it not only combats the threats posed by deepfakes but also empowers organizations and consumers to navigate the digital age with confidence and security.