The end of fake news

Part 2: No more “dodgy” documents

In part one of this article, we discussed “fauxtography” and how anyone could use Concordium’s simple service to register, authenticate and timestamp images as original. In Part 2, we’d like to look at another use case: registering contracts.

Say two people sign a contract and register it on the blockchain right there and then, creating an indelible timestamped record of the original document. If a dispute or disagreement arises down the line, say due to multiple evolutions of a contract over time, both parties would have proof as to the integrity of the contract at a specific time, or that the original hadn’t been tampered with. If it had been altered in any way, it simply wouldn’t be able to be found on the registry.

And it could work in a similar way for recording minutes of public or private meetings. During the pandemic there was a lot of unverified information and rumour going around. In response, many countries chose to have public forums so people could show that healthcare decisions being made were from official sources and therefore trustworthy. And what about stakeholder or Board meetings? Verifying the minutes on the blockchain as being original would provide extra peace of mind for anyone unable to attend — especially in potentially contentious situations.

Easy as pie and cheap as chips

The problem with verifying files and documents is that it can take a lot of effort. You might need a trusted intermediary or third-part verifier, for example, which adds both time and cost to the process. Or you might need special equipment. Or to install specific software. The point being that while you can do all the above without a blockchain, it’s just so much more cumbersome.

Why is this? Because in a closed system or process, you’ll most likely need to share log files to demonstrate something’s unchanged. Or provide access to your systems for others to look through, or perhaps use third-parties for verification. However, with the right blockchain application, you can do all this simply, quickly and cheaply, and at the same time, remove costly middlemen and friction from the equation altogether. Throw in automated uploading to a widely used storage or back-up system such as iCloud or Dropbox, or your own company repository, and the whole verification and authentication process becomes even easier.

There are countless occasions where we just don’t bother to validate or verify documents because it’s either too expensive, it takes too much time, or it’s too much hassle. So any blockchain solution that’s both easy as pie to use and cheap as chips to run will be of real benefit to everyone — from individuals drafting or signing contracts to procurement paying for goods or services, to anyone who needs to timestamp any document for reference in future.

Last word

Of course, timestamping files and documents on the blockchain alone won’t eradicate “fake news” or forgeries altogether, but it could provide another layer of assurance and confidence that images and documents are what they say they are. And what’s not to like if it’s easy to do, costs virtually nothing, and is a good habit to get into.

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