Smart Contracts (SCs) & Consensus Mechanisms
Contribution of SCs
🧐 Only after a prliminary check e.g., a publisher is registered to the network ✅
🥷🏼 Contract tampering is prevented by copying the SC to each node of the blockchain network
👍🏼 The use of SCs within a decentralized ledger expedites the verification of the identity of third parties
Contribution of Consensus Mechanisms
✅ For a system to work independently and reliably, the selection of validators of a block, as well as changes in the blockchain must be confirmed by consensus mechanisms
✅ Consensus mechanisms are applied for the verification of information before it is added to the chain
➡️ Consensus mechanisms contribute to the prevention of creating and spreading Fake News, since they ensure that only legitimate transactions are stored on the blockchain
✅ Proof-of-Work (PoW)
👍🏼 enables agreement on the state of all information recorded on a blockchain
💰The creation of blocks is rewarded with cryptocurrency ➡️ Incentive to create more blocks and to build a safe network!
🚫The energy spent by a miner, who requires 51% of the mining power to tamper the network should outweigh the profit he could gain on an attack
✅ Proof-of-Stake (PoS)
💰⏰ Here, the probability to be selected as a validator increases with the amount of the stake or other factors
🚫 Network tampering is unattractive, since attacks on the network are sanctioned with deduction of assets and…
🚫…owning 51% of the total stake, e.g., money in the network, is required to tamper the network ➡️ could be a large amount of money
💪🏼 PoW & PoS
⬆️ To further leverage the mitigation of Fake News by validating wrong information PoW and PoS can be combined
🚫 Therefore, if the majority of collective resources, consisting of e.g., computational power and stakes, e.g., coins, is hold by honest players, a network can defend itself with honest stakes against players, who own more than 50% of computational power
✅ Proof-of-Authority (PoA)
👨🏼🦱👩🏻 Stake hold by a user in a network is not monetary, but relies on the validator’s identity
🚫 Setting high standards of selection could reduce malicious behavior and thus, the creation as well as dissemination of Fake News
✅ PoC
no third party needed to determine the credibility of news, since this is done by the peers of the blockchain
Neural Networks & Blockchains to Combat Control Clickbaiting
🚫 The upstream neural network filters out potentially malicious clickbait and Fake News
PoA & PoC to Enhance Traceability, Authentication
⬆️ This combination increases the power of honest users
👊🏼 System can defend itself with honest stakes against players controlling more than 50% of e.g., computational power
Source of images: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/problem-lösung-hilfe-support-2731501/; https://pixabay.com/de/photos/stadt-panorama-smartphone-steuerung-3213676/; https://pixabay.com/de/photos/faser-kabel-verbindung-netzwerk-4814456/; https://pixabay.com/de/photos/vorhängeschloss-gesperrt-gesichert-428549/