AGERPRES News

Launch of ‘Agerpres Daily News|Hold History’ project – a crucial step in building a safe digital ecosystem (ResearchMin)

National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics ICI Bucharest and AGERPRES National News
Agency, with the support of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Transformation launched on Monday the “Agerpres Daily News | Hold History” project, which aims to combat disinformation and promote quality journalism through the use of blockchain technology and of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Students from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication
Sciences of the Bucharest University, accompanied by Dean Romina Surugiu, as well as students from the Romanian-American University attended the launch event.

The launch of the “Agerpres Daily News | Hold History” pilot project is another crucial step in building a safe and correctly informed digital ecosystem, and the use of blockchain technology is a strong argument for the authenticity and veracity of information, Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Transformation Bogdan-Gruia Ivan said on Monday at the project launch event.

In his turn, director general of the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest Adrian-Victor Vevera emphasized that the “Agerpres Daily News | Hold History” pilot project running October 21 – 31 will shift, with the help of blockchain technology, news-writing into the century we live in.

Adrian-Victor Vevera mentioned that news validation has become a practice at all major news agencies and this is how news items in the form of collectable NFT data that is stored in memory emerged.

AGERPRES managing director Claudia Nicolae explained the timeliness of such a project, mentioning that readers with an informational background report that they always check the news on the website of the National News Agency; on the other hand, she admitted that the number of young people who access the site is quite small.

“Today’s youth don’t come to media channels, but rather expect the media to come where they are present. That’s how the NFT project started two years ago, with archive photos. (…) Where does the timeliness reside? I think it’s essential that we come together, that we connect traditional journalism and journalism that will definitely use technology in the future. It’s important to keep what we, seasoned journalists, already have in our DNA: the information must be checked, it must be certified, we must take responsibility for the information we deliver, but we must always look at the channel that will carry this information, because the risk exists that our pure and accurate information, free of any shred of subjectivity, reaches other channels in a deeply distorted form. I think this is what we should work on. This is a pilot project. I hope with all my heart that it sets the cornerstone for the information of the future,” Claudia Nicolae pointed out.

The “Agerpres Daily News | Hold History” project aims to transform accurate and verified news into unique NFTs, giving media consumers the opportunity to collect some of the most relevant moments in daily news. Each NFT will be a selection of the daily highlights, provided by a trusted source, and accompanied by a digital certificate of authenticity, guaranteed by blockchain technology, which prevents changes or manipulation of information.

Every day, a team of experienced journalists will select the most important stories, which will be transformed into NFTs that will be
available on the ICI D|Services platform, the first institutional platform in Europe dedicated to the management and trading of digital assets.