TechCrunch reported on June 13th that the developer of Adblock Plus, eyeo GmbH, will begin to use blockchain technology for its new browser extension called Trusted News. The extension is in beta status and only available on Google’s Chrome Internet browser. The browser functions by marking which sites and stories are trustworthy, and which of those stories would constitute “fake news.” Once a user adds Trusted News to their browser, a small window appears on the news source with a small, brief description and label to let the user know how credible the source is. Some labels the extension utilizes are unknown, clickbait, satire, and trustworthy. It can also indicate if the source frequently produces biased content, or if it’s an unbiased site according to the developer’s sources. The ratings for each site come from a database consisting of multiple sources that identify which sites are trustworthy. The database uses information from Snopes, Wikipedia, PoliFact, and Zimdars’ List when analyzing content. The extension utilizes an anti-fraud URL registry to update and manage the central database. It’s powered by the MetaCert protocol, but over time, it will migrate to the Ethereum blockchain. The company plans to expand their capabilities and reliability even more by issuing tokens to track where rewards go and to prohibit anyone from modifying, deleting, or otherwise spoiling valuable data. The company’s director of ecosystems, Ben Williams, informed TechCrunch that user feedback plays a large role in improving the extension. Users can provide feedback on ratings and dispute what the extension suggests with an option to include why they feel that way. The developers will look at these report and give the feedback report directly to the blockchain to reward good feedback and push aside those who give unhelpful feedback. He reinforced that the company is still determining if the extension is something users are looking for. There isn’t, and won’t be, an option to whitelist certain sites for purposes of bypassing the ratings system. If the product is successful, future versions could include more fine-tuned details and user options. Both Facebook and Google are also taking active stances to combat fake news articles.