The Associated Press news agency said it will launch its own Oracle Chainlink node to ensure all data from its U.S. newspaper and broadcast members is cryptographically verified.
In an Oct. 21 announcement, the Associated Press, or AP, said smart contract developers would have access to the agency’s “economic, sports and racial call data” once the node was operational. According to the AP, it will post data to the channel for developers to access and reference in all relevant apps, in addition to providing information on upcoming elections and serving artists working with non-fungible tokens. .
“Chainlink technology is the ideal way to provide smart contract developers around the world with direct, on-demand access to AP’s economic, sports and running call data,” said Dwayne Desaulniers, director of the blockchain and AP data licenses. “Working with Chainlink allows this information to be compatible with any blockchain. “
The AP said the main reason for moving to blockchain was “trust,” in that the on-chain data it provided would be “a publicly accessible, safe and secure record of verified information.” The news agency added that it would be willing to change its approach based on the response from the developers, as it keeps “a finger on the pulse of the blockchain economy.”
Related: Blockchain in journalism: the winds of change are taking media to new frontiers
This is not the news agency’s first foray into blockchain technology. The AP was reportedly interested in exploring ways to secure intellectual property rights, support ethical journalism, and track content usage when it partnered with blockchain-based journalism startup Civil in 2018. In addition, the PA released the results of the controversial 2020 US presidential election on the Ethereum and EOS blockchains.
