Publiq was created in 2017. It is the first platform to use blockchain technology to guarantee authenticity of texts, avoid censorship, and combat fake news prevalent in media. PUBLIQ is registered as a non-profit foundation in the Slovak Republic, and is a member of WAN-IFRA and FIPP.
Publiq uses a unique blockchain model for authors, which creates an open neutral system where the credibility of the content is directly monitored by the community, eliminating middlemen and censorship. The platform is primarily geared towards news and articles. Once an article is posted on Publiq, it gets encrypted on the blockchain and shared over a peer-to-peer network. Readers have options to like, share, and flag the article, thus generating reputation for both the channel and author.
To avoid external manipulation, interactions are executed through smart contracts. Writers with higher reputations are more likely to get read and garner higher rewards. The authors' work is stored forever on the blockchain as proof of their credentials.
Publiq has garnered attention by publishing platforms such as Drupal which face a "crisis of confidence" due to poor journalism and fake news, which Publiq's platform can address. Integration development for the popular Drupal and WordPress publishing platforms was announced at the Drupal Europe Conference in 2018.
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers completed a case study on Publiq and also conducted webinars to education organizations on the technology. Publiq is a member of WAN-IFRA.Funk, a streaming TV service, is a publisher on Publiq.
All the advertising profits of Publiq are distributed between the participants. The platform uses a rewarding system called a "PUBLIQ score". The rewards are made in "PBQ tokens", the in-house currency for transactions on the platform. PBQ had its initial coin offering in November and December 2017. The tokens allow authors to post and advertisers to sponsor channels, but also provide incentive for seeders and readers who participate in the platform.
