By
Bena Ilyas
April 22nd, 2024
Through Chainlink, Associated Press would use the blockchain to verify information economic, financial, and other information from members.
The Associated Press (AP) news agency says it will be launching its own Chainlink oracle node to cryptographically verify data from US newspapers and its other broadcaster members. According to an official AP press release, available and verified data would include information on business financials, economic data, race calls, and sports game outcomes.
AP says that smart contracts developers will soon be privy to this information once the node becomes operational. The agency also said it would publish data on-chain for developers to access and interact with, in relevant applications. Such activities cover everything, from information provision on upcoming elections to catering to artists working with non-fungible tokens.
Chainlink is the world’s largest decentralized network of oracles that supplies information content to blockchains. Speaking on the new development, AP director of blockchain and data licensing Dwayne Desaulniers said:
“Chainlink technology is the ideal way to provide smart contract developers anywhere in the world with direct, on-demand access to AP’s trusted economic, sports, and race call data.”
Desaulniers also stated that AP’s collaboration with Chainlink would make the agency’s information compatible with any blockchain. Furthermore, the 175-year-old news agency reaffirmed that content provided will always be publicly accessible, safe, secure, and verified. AP says the reason behind cryptographic news verification is “trust-based”, and suggests that the initiative will be flexible and adaptable. Generally, the agency is willing to adapt the offering depending on how developers respond to it.
Associated Press’ Partnership with Chainlink Indicative of How Fast Blockchain Technology Is Permeating Leading Mainstream Businesses
The AP-Chainlink collaboration is the latest example of a prominent, mainstream brand incorporating blockchain technology into its operations. Simultaneously, it also demonstrates Chainlink’s intention to push the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) into new areas.
William Herkelrath, managing director at Chainlink Labs, regards AP as one of the world’s “most trusted independent news organizations”. He added that given AP’s large resource base and data repository, it only made sense for the news agency to form a partnership. William also suggested that the collaboration was merit-based due to Chainlink’s own proven competence in blockchain technology.
Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov, also weighed in. He stated:
“The AP’s choice to provide data to various blockchains through Chainlink signifies both a shift in how data sources value smart contracts and a significant increase in what smart contracts are now able to achieve using AP data.”
This is not Associated Press’ first venture into blockchain technology. In 2018, the news company partnered with Civil, a blockchain-centric, journalism startup. At the time, AP was looking into exploring avenues to achieve a host of disparate media-related objectives. These included securing intellectual property rights, supporting ethical journalism, and tracking content usage. Another example of AP’s prior dealings with blockchain technology was during the 2020 US presidential elections. The news agency published the results of that election onto the Ethereum and EOS blockchains.