NewsBlocks is a data format that allows all the data around news events to be recorded on a blockchain.

NewsBlocks empower developers to create a new generation of trusted news applications.

• Unbiased breaking news feeds
• News archive applications
• Social networks based on trusted news
• Fact-checking platforms
• News visualisations
• Research products

NewsBlocks allow the storage and retrieval of news with the following properties:

• Data-driven – NewsBlocks are stored as data, and can be retrieved and manipulated easily
• Consistent – Unlike news articles, all NewsBlocks follow the same data format
• Unbiased – NewsBlocks are stored in an unbiased form
• Persistent – Always available online, and immune to takedown attacks
• Uncensorable – Cannot be modified or deleted by external agencies
• Verified – All NewsBlocks are verified as matching the source article(s)
• Complete – Definitive record of all news past and present
• Scalable – Millions of news NewsBlocks can be added
• Secure – Protected through cryptographic means
• Anonymous – Can be added, validated, and edited anonymously

No, NewsBlocks, as a repository of all the world’s news (in the form of data), can be used as a platform to build fact-checking systems.

Currently, factchecking requires considerable resources to collect information and statements using Google searches, newspaper archives and video and other resources. NewsBlocks provides developers with a powerful, easy-to-use archive containing news data.

Yes. NewsBlocks aims to convert news articles into individual news events, each of which includes a just-the-facts summary, a quotation, information about who participated in the event, and other data.

The NewsBlocks Protocol s essentially a set of rules that govern how each piece of data should be processed before it is eligible for verification onto the blockchain. For example, in the case of a headlines, developers who are storing data are required to strip the headline of bias:

1. In Alabama, Trump refuses to heed calls for gun control — Left leaning headline
2. Trump Alabama rally vows to protect 2nd Amendment – Right leaning headline
3. Trump gives a speech in Alabama about the issue of guns – Unbiased NewsBlock headline

NewsBlocks tracks all the sources that contribute to a news event. If a NewsBlock is poorly sourced, it is marked as requiring further verification. Rumours and unsourced comments are marked as “Rumours/Unverified”, even if the rumour is reported in multiple publications.

It is important to note that NewsBlocks may include disputed information. For example:

Trump says his inauguration crowd was the biggest ever.

While the numbers of inaugural attendees may be disputed, the fact that Trump made this statement is not, and his statement is verified as having happened in a NewsBlock.

Unlike Wikipedia or news archives that are owned by corporations, no one person, or group of people, can have control over, or interfere with, the data on NewsBlocks system.

The NewsChain blockchain itself is held offshore over multiple nodes, so it is not subject to GDPR regulations. However, any app that uses the data is subject to restrictions based on its location. European apps that access NewsBlocks must either build their own GDPR filter, or hook into a filter app that The NewsBlocks Foundation, or a third-party provider, has made.

Every piece of news data held on the blockchain is priced, using an auction system. Applications are billed when they retrieve the data, and those payments are distributed directly, without the need of any third parties, to the contributors who added and verified the data. A very small proportion of the funds are retained by the NewsBlocks Foundation for running expenses.

Newslines is a social news network application, built using NewsBlocks’ verified data, that combines the best parts of daily news sites, Wikipedia and Facebook.

You’ll save time by getting no-nonsense, fact-based summaries of the news that’s important to you. You’ll also be able to see the complete news history of any topic.

Newslines sells highly-targeted advertising and ad-free subscriptions. We do not sell your data to third-parties.

Newslines, as a high-visibility commercial application:

1. Attracts users, developers, contributors and media attention to the NewsBlocks Protocol.
2. Creates a market for NewsBlocks data (10% of Newslines revenues are paid to NewsBlocks creators)
3. Builds open-source tools that can be used by other applications