Associated Press plans to launch Chainlink node to publish data

The Associated Press news agency announced it would be launching its own Chainlink oracle node to ensure any data from its U.S. newspaper and broadcaster members would be cryptographically verified.

In an Oct. 21 announcement, the Associated Press, or AP, said smart contract developers would have access to the agency’s “economic, sports, and race call data” once the node was operational. According to the AP, it will be publishing data on-chain for developers to access and reference in any relevant applications, in addition to providing information on upcoming elections and serving artists working with nonfungible tokens.

“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” said AP director of blockchain and data licensing Dwayne Desaulniers. “Working with Chainlink allows this information to be compatible with any blockchain.”

The AP said its primary reason for the shift to blockchain was “trust,” in that the on-chain data it provided would be “a publicly accessible, safe and secure record of verified information.” The news agency added it would be open to shifting its approach based on the response from developers as it kept "a finger on the pulse of the blockchain economy."

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This is not the news agency’s first foray into blockchain technology. The AP was reportedly interested in exploring ways to secure intellectual property rights, support ethical journalism, and track content usage when it partnered with blockchain-based journalism startup Civil in 2018. In addition, the AP published the results of contentious 2020 U.S. presidential election onto the Ethereum and EOS blockchains.