Madrid, 16 February, 2021 – Worldline [Euronext: WLN], the European market leader in payment and transaction services, will lead the “TruBlo” (Trusted Blockchain) project in the context of the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet initiative, a project that is dedicated to foster a vibrant Open Internet movement that links research, policy, and society for the benefit of society.
The TruBlo project aims to nurture and facilitate research on blockchain technology which will lead to more reliable blockchain-based solutions and applications, that will contribute to ensuring the exchange of trustworthy and reliable content on social networks and media. TruBlo will last three years and each of the projects that it will support if they reach completion, will last a maximum of 15 months.
Three open calls for proposals will be launched as part of the TruBlo project. The first opened on 18 January 2021 and will close on 19 March (link to apply). Target participants are researchers, innovators and developers either as natural person(s) or from academia as well as from high tech companies, to develop research or pilot projects focusing on the following usage scenarios:
Trust and reputation models on blockchains. This focus area targets innovative applications, technologies, technical approaches and methodologies that increase the levels of trust in blockchain-based information exchange, with emphasis on user-generated content on the Internet and social media, considering also data from IoT infrastructures.
Proof-of-validity and proof-of-location. This focus area is on innovative mechanisms to increase transparency and trustworthiness of user-generated genuine content. The users, as being part of a blockchain, can apply additional verification mechanisms to increase transparency, validity and a high level of trustworthiness, such as Proof- of-Location and Proof-of Validity.
It is estimated that up to 450 proposals will be assessed in three calls for proposals, of which 45 will be partially financed and 9 carried through to completion.
Toni Paradell, R&D manager at Worldline Iberia & Group coordinator for the TruBlo project, said:“Generating trust in technologies is key to driving the new digital society, and there is no doubt that the TruBlo project will result in researchers, academics and businesses developing new blockchain solutions to ensure the exchange of reliable content on social networks and in the media. The 9 projects that are implemented will be key to creating trust models that power the exchange of content generated by individuals from any device. This is fundamental if we are to make the technologies part of our lives and increase our ability to drive an agile, effective and secure digital transformation environment”.
Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry and #4 player worldwide. With its global reach and its commitment to innovation, Worldline is the technology partner of choice for merchants, banks and third-party acquirers as well as public transport operators, government agencies and industrial companies in all sectors. Powered by over 20,000 employees in more than 50 countries, Worldline provides its clients with sustainable, trusted and secure solutions across the payment value chain, fostering their business growth wherever they are. Services offered by Worldline in the areas of Merchant Services; Terminals, Solutions & Services; Financial Services and Mobility & e-Transactional Services include domestic and cross-border commercial acquiring, both in-store and online, highly-secure payment transaction processing, a broad portfolio of payment terminals as well as e-ticketing and digital services in the industrial environment. In 2019 Worldline generated a proforma revenue of 5.3 billion euros. worldline.com
ABOUT TRUBLO
The TruBlo project is implemented by a consortium of six European partners with different profiles and capacities. The consortium is composed of the Technological University of Athens, experts in blockchain technology; ATC, a company specialized in the development of technologies for detecting and fighting fake news; Deustche Welle, the German public international broadcasting company, delivering their services in 30 languages; F6S, the world’s largest startup and SME community; and ALASTRIA, a Spanish provider of Blockchain infrastructure. The TruBlo project is co-financed by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (contract No. 957228).
“Information Disorder” is one of the best studies to read if you want to get involved in the fight for trustable content. Written by Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakshan, two experts in the field, the study provides a structured overview. This helps to first understand the problem of false and falsified information. The study goes beyond simply describing the problem. Instead, it provides a “framework for policy-makers, legislators, researchers, technologists and practitioners” who need to work together for results.
A need for collaboration
The report acknowledges that the phenomena are not new. False rumours and campaigns using false information existed before the internet. What has changed recently is the scale of “information pollution”. False information can spread faster, making it more complex to provide correct facts. “Information Disorder” suggests that there is an urgent need to work collaboratively to find solutions. To get there the report provides a detailed framework of possible actions.
As a helpful overview, the report visualises the three key forms of information disorder, side by side.
From just false to outright harmful: Forms of information disorder. Source: Information Disorder, 2017.
Mis-information is when false information is shared, but no harm is meant.
Dis-information is when false information is knowingly shared to cause harm.
Mal-information is when genuine information is shared to cause harm, often by moving information designed to stay private in the public sphere.
The study suggests clearly to not use the label “fake news”, with reason:
“In this report, we refrain from using the term ‘fake news’, for two reasons. First, it is woefully inadequate to describe the complex phenomena of information pollution. The term has also begun to be appropriated by politicians around the world to describe news organisations whose coverage they find disagreeable. In this way, it’s becoming a mechanism by which the powerful can clamp down upon, restrict, undermine and circumvent the free press.”
Information Disorder, 2017
Why it matters: If we want to curb the amount of wrong information we must understand first that an unintended communication mistake has to be separated from a campaign using entirely fabricated info. This applies to both technical tools against such information as well other forms of activism in this space.
The study asks the key questions: Who is creating disinformation? Why are they doing it and what are their goals? This is extremely important for any initiative in this field: Only when we understand why some groups use this instrument we have a real chance to block, filter or expose intentional mis- and mal-information.
As the study comes from two authors with a writing/journalism background they take a look at how and why people consume such content and why – at times – they start to belief in what is presented them and even re-distribute the content. Why is this? “A key argument within this report, which draws from the work of the scholar James Carey, is that we need to understand the ritualistic function of communication. Rather than simply thinking about communication as the transmission of information from one person to another, we must recognize that communication plays a fundamental role in representing shared beliefs. It is not just information, but drama”
The role of social platforms: “Information pollution” can affect all complex topics – health and medical, economy and ecology. As such the occurrence of false information and the use as a tool is not new. But a difference now is that social media platforms amplify the reach and encourage users to post material which might earn them approval from others – through likes and other subtle forms of positive feedback.
“It is not just information, but drama”
INFORMATION DISORDER, 2017
Step by step the authors develop a framework of recommendations and actions for multiple interest groups: Administrations, public bodies, governments, the civil society and – of course – media organisations. What makes the study helpful is that these lists of tips are straight-forward and simple. In combination, one could hope though that the numerous counter-activities help to fight information disorder, over time.
Download the 2018 version of the report here: Information Disorder (free, no registration)
Disinformation That Kills: The Expanding Battlefield Of Digital Warfare – Analysis
How do disinformation campaigns work and what are the different types of attacks? Social media has turned into a digital battlefield. Because so many people are online building a false narrative to influence a society has become one facet the information warfare. “False information about major events from the Covid-19 outbreak to the 2020 US election is jeopardizing public health and safety.” The report (free download after registration) provides helpful information about the current situation. Further the authors provide an outlook how misinformation will most likely change in the future.
When: October 16th & 17th Where: The Internet (virtual event)
Why it matters: The Conference for Truth and Trust Online (TTO 2020) assembles stakeholders that care about “improving the truthfulness and trustworthiness of online communications”. This includes media scholars, journalists, activists, or industry representatives. Talks and sessions deal with all kinds of social media and information problems – and potential countermeasures.
Who is there? Trust in online media/news is one of our core topics in many research projects. Especially when it comes to the narrower field of verification, fact checking, and countering false information.
At TTO 2020, Ruben Bouwmeesterand Patrick Aichroth (Fraunhofer IDMT) will discuss Deepfakes detection, or more specifically: the ongoing Google DNI project Digger, which is about detecting manipulated and synthetic media with the help of audio forensics technology. The talk will have a focus on “the challenges of transferring scientific expertise into the media domain, making it intelligible and usable to non-forensics experts, and the importance of adopting a ‘falsification culture’ for media”.
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