Numbers Protocol

<p>2024 is <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/01/ai-democracy-election-year-2024-disinformation-misinformation/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the first election year with wide adoption of AI</a>.  The Taiwan 2024 election project aims to rebuild digital trust by  addressing the challenges of disinformation and fake news through media  verification and preservation.</p><p>Leveraging blockchain technology,  the initiative, led by Numbers Protocol in collaboration with the  Starling Lab, Taiwanese news outlets, and journalists assigns unique  digital identities to images and videos to ensure their authenticity and  immutability. This approach enhances public confidence in media  reporting by documenting the presidential election’s key moments with  traceable and secure data, thereby countering misinformation in the  politically and geopolitically sensitive context of Taiwan.</p><p>This  article provides technical details for any developer interested in  creating a similar project. For more information about the Taiwan 2024  election project, please visit the project’s website at<a href="https://votetw2024.numbersprotocol.io/En" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Taiwan 2024</a>.</p><p>‍</p><h3 id="why-blockchain">Why Blockchain?</h3><p>The  technical flow of the Taiwan 2024 election project builds off of other  projects Numbers Protocol collaborated on with Starling Lab, including <a href="https://www.starlinglab.org/78days/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">78 Days</a>, <a href="https://investigation.rollingstone.com/dj-photo-war-crimes-bosnia/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The DJ And The War Crimes</a>, and <a href="https://sfi.usc.edu/news/2022/06/33571-starling-lab-and-hala-systems-file-cryptographic-submission-evidence-war-crimes" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Cryptographic Submission of Evidence of War Crimes in Ukraine</a>(Project  Dokaz). You may notice that one key difference between these innovative  projects and traditional archive projects is the adoption of  blockchain. Before going further, the first question we need to address  is why blockchain is necessary.</p><p><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/614a461b65bc5f19fb465c08/6628a4bcce8b66f02edc59fb_0*SA4-J5ED-0bTzIpK.png" /></p><p>There  are already many metadata standards that help establish the provenance  of digital media such as IPTC and C2PA, and they all have value.  However, blockchain registration provides additional advantages, making  sure the content history records are immutable and transparent and can  be connected to the broader Web3 ecosystem. Once a transaction is  written to the blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted. This  immutability guarantees the permanent accessibility of records, ensuring  data remains untampered.</p><p>‍</p><h3 id="products-used-by-this-project">Products Used By This Project</h3><p><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/614a461b65bc5f19fb465c08/6628a4bcda7fd070e0bd5e8e_0*5VgiiMT_vLzhLCYi.png" /></p><p>Numbers Protocol builds a provenance infrastructure compliant with IPTC and C2PA. The products include an <a href="https://captureapp.xyz/products/sdk" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">SDK</a> to help developers quickly adopt the provenance standards. We have the <a href="https://captureapp.xyz/products/camera" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Capture Cam</a>,  which you can easily download from the App Store or Google Play. It is a  mobile tool that can help users take photos with integrity assured. The  <a href="https://captureapp.xyz/products/dashboard" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Capture Dashboard</a> also allows content owners to manage content and its metadata with ease.</p><p>‍</p><h3 id="technical-flow-overview">Technical Flow Overview</h3><p><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/614a461b65bc5f19fb465c08/6628a4bb1e37b251a11e6688_0*iUJ6DLYnjeOJNury.png" /></p><p>There are three main steps involved in the technical flow</p><ul><li>Register content to the blockchain</li><li>Verify on-chain information via the Verify Engine or the information widget</li><li>Archive  the project content in the decentralized storage using the Filecoin  network to ensure long-term preservation of this collection.</li></ul><p>‍</p><h3 id="step-1-register-to-blockchain">Step 1: Register to Blockchain</h3><p><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/614a461b65bc5f19fb465c08/6628a4bb87e5157fe82d55e7_0*IG0GSqPx4SITtaCF.png" /></p><p>Media  outlets and journalists capture the images and videos from the election  campaigns. The original file and their provenance metadata are uploaded  via Dashboard (for individual journalists) or SDK (for mass uploads of  the content files). The tools extract the decentralised content  identifier (NID) from the original file. Thanks to the IPFS technology,  the same content identifier is also the unique address of the content on  the decentralised web. Once the NID is generated, the smart contract  executes the “commit” function to take the NID and the provenance  metadata and create a transaction on the blockchain.</p><h4>Commit and ERC-7053</h4><p>The “commit” function of the smart contract follows <a href="https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7053" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ERC-7053 (Ethereum Improvement Proposals)</a> standard. Suppose you are familiar with the development tool Git,  similar to the updating of source code. In that case, ERC-7053 allows  you to do the same thing to update the metadata of content by linking  multiple metadata to the same content ID. Just like Git commits. These  commits can happen on the same blockchain or different blockchains. As  long as they all follow 7053, you can use the content ID to query and  get the full content history. In the Taiwan 2024 election project, all  records are registered to the <a href="https://chainlist.org/chain/10507" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">EVM-compatible Numbers Mainnet</a>.</p><h4>Civic Participation</h4><p>Another  inspiring aspect of this project is the embrace of civic engagement. We  all know the important role that authentic voices and perspectives from  people play in elections. However, distinguishing real human  contributions from AI-generated deepfakes presents a significant  challenge and reduces trust in the internet. In the Taiwan 2024 election  project, we introduced the Capture Cam technology, facilitating the  contribution of verified media by the general public.</p><p><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/614a461b65bc5f19fb465c08/6628a4bc6fc9719d895841f2_0*ARRP1yR4wfyNYO77.png" /></p><p><a href="https://captureapp.xyz/products/camera" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Capture Cam</a>,  accessible on both Android and iOS platforms, simplifies the process of  capturing and blockchain-registering photos and videos through a  user-friendly interface. The secure signature for the content metadata  is generated right after the photo is taken and sealed onto the  blockchain. This allows users to easily record media with a tap and make  basic edits before blockchain registration, thus maintaining the  content’s authenticity and integrity.</p><p>The content uploaded by the  general public is listed in the “Civic Participation” tab on the project  website. One user used Capture Cam to record the election counting  process at the polling station, which gave the polling station a <a href="https://verify.numbersprotocol.io/asset-profile/1705144622232x463385154494660600?nid&#61;bafybeifsvsdiu6srknxvcs3kpc2cssucfea6uysf36elmeq2k3qk5sp6re" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">permanent record of the counting process</a> on the blockchain. More details of the Capture Cam can be found <a href="https://www.numbersprotocol.io/blog/all-about-capture-capture-product-suite-capture-cam" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here</a>.</p><p>Provenance  and metadata are only useful if they can be verified. In the following  paragraphs, I will focus on the verification pipeline.</p><p>‍</p><h3 id="verification-pipeline">Verification Pipeline</h3><p><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/614a461b65bc5f19fb465c08/6628a4bbfb91041579231eea_0*j5yjYginNriIfdHX.png" /></p><p>When  images are shared across social media, they are often cropped,  compressed, or modified. By visiting the Numbers Verify Engine and  uploading the content, the AI compares it against existing images,  highlighting the matched content. Clicking the matched content (or any  similar ones that AI found), the Verify Engine will navigate you to the  asset profile (explained below) of the content. This verification  process is akin to a digital fingerprint, ensuring your content’s  uniqueness and legitimacy.</p><p>‍</p><h4>Asset Profile</h4><p><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/614a461b65bc5f19fb465c08/6628a4bc53239071a83336a1_0*kBhkoMF_IRvQVPB5.png" /></p><p>Once  uploaded, content can be verified through Numbers Protocol’s AI-powered  engine. Each piece of content on Capture has its profile, displaying  comprehensive information similar to a LinkedIn profile or a company’s  front page. This profile includes creator details, creation time and  location, and a direct link to the blockchain transaction, ensuring  transparency and trust in the digital realm.</p><p>In some cases, the  media outlets and the journalists may want to display the content using  the link on their social media or website in order to keep the content  traffic. Asset Profile also supports the display of social media  content, and here is <a href="https://verify.numbersprotocol.io/asset-profile/1712737947304x664017303723049000?nid&#61;bafybeibyl7ebflhyjsejhgdm4kbmwovnf3quoiuzi3m37fipfnf3cm632u" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">an example from the Taiwan 2024 election project</a>.</p><p>‍</p><h4>AssetTree files</h4><p>As  mentioned in the previous paragraphs, the “commits” follow the ERC-7053  standard to ensure the traceability of the content history. In every  blockchain transaction associated with the content, you can find the <a href="https://docs.numbersprotocol.io/introduction/numbers-protocol/defining-web3-assets/assettree" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">AssetTree file</a> in the Metadata column. AssetTree files describe an asset’s properties,  including its creator, creation time, license, and other relevant  details.</p><p>When changes are made to an asset, a new<a href="https://docs.numbersprotocol.io/introduction/numbers-protocol/defining-web3-assets/commit" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Commit</a> is created on the blockchain. This process also generates a new  AssetTree file reflecting the updated state of the asset. The provenance  area of the asset profile displays the merged AssetTree files from all  commits. You may find more information about AssetTree in <a href="https://docs.numbersprotocol.io/introduction/numbers-protocol/defining-web3-assets/assettree" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">our developer documentation</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://docs.numbersprotocol.io/introduction/numbers-protocol/defining-web3-assets/assettree" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">usedBy</a> field in the <a href="https://ipfs-pin.numbersprotocol.io/ipfs/bafkreia32u2sfbl5eiiqdvesonxvx7xczsl3eonc2tvnowqggtrzpdgaru" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">AssetTree</a> is especially important to this project. It records how the content is  used and may help the viewer of this asset profile explore more news  related to the image or video.</p><p>‍</p><h3 id="information-widgets-capture-eye">Information Widgets (Capture Eye)</h3><p><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/614a461b65bc5f19fb465c08/6628a4bc25762013ea65051f_0*nKzI-83HRzEIvDUO.png" /></p><p>Another  way to allow users to verify the provenance information is to install  the information widgets on the website. Capture users can either choose <a href="https://contentcredentials.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">C2PA Content Credentials pin</a> or <a href="https://captureapp.xyz/products/eye" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Capture Eye</a>.  Capture Eye is a simple HTML widget that can be installed on any  website. It takes the content identifier (NID) as the input information.  Once the user clicks the widget, the blockchain information is shown.  This allows the media outlets to highlight the blockchain provenance on  their website and to enhance the content authenticity.</p><p>Capture Eye  not only displays on-chain information but also supports advanced  features like direct license NFT purchases through a “COLLECT” button.  This offers a streamlined approach for audiences to engage with and  support authentic content directly from publishers’ websites and  increases the publishers’ monetisation channels.</p><p>‍</p><h3 id="final-archive">Final Archive</h3><p>All  the videos uploaded by media outlets, journalists and civic  participants are packaged as zips with the content metadata and archived  on the <a href="https://filecoin.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Filecoin network</a> by Starling Lab. The decentralised storage like Filecoin to archive the  Taiwan Election project content ensures long-term preservation and  integrity. The decentralised and crypto-incentivized features of the  Filecoin network offer a secure solution for storing data across  multiple nodes globally, reducing risks of censorship and data loss.  This strategy ensures that essential election content is preserved for  extensive periods, promoting trust and reliability in digital archives.</p><p>In addition to the Filecoin archive, journalists also used a customized instance of <a href="https://uwazi.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Uwazi</a> asset management system with a prototype of an Authenticated Attributes  backend, developed by Starling Lab in the Taiwan 2024 election project  to prototype a collaborative journalism investigation.</p><p>Uwazi is an  open-source tool developed by HURIDOCS that is often used for  collecting evidence or building an archive. Authenticated Attributes  uses an authenticated database, alongside modern cryptography to enable  individuals and groups to securely store and share media and metadata.  The outcome is a tool that is useful for journalists and investigators  to build a better understanding of events through collaboration. More  details about the final archive and Uwazi will be shared in another  blog.</p><p>‍</p><h3 id="new-digital-era-with-content-provenance">New Digital Era with Content Provenance</h3><p>Leveraging  blockchain and decentralized storage technologies, the Taiwan Election  project marks a significant step towards a future where the provenance  and integrity of digital content are highly valued. This approach is  crucial not only for combating misinformation but also for enabling news  outlets and journalists to emphasize their brand values.</p><p>Similar technologies have been adopted in the <a href="https://voteid2024.numbersprotocol.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Indonesian</a> and <a href="https://votein2024.numbersprotocol.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Indian</a> elections, and more election collaborations are coming, showcasing a  global trend. This initiative emphasizes the importance of protecting  electoral integrity and digital information. These approaches promise  greater transparency, trust in election results, and a precedent for  employing tech to uphold democratic principles and verify digital  archives globally.</p>

Ensuring the Integrity of Taiwan’s 2024 Election: The Blockchain and Decentralized Archiving

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Numbers Team

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