Errol Hula: How Bitcoin SV Can Call Out Fake News
Have you ever wanted to call BS about something you saw online? For most of us, the answer is a resounding yes. That is why Errol Hula is building a system that allows users to mark whether information on social media is correct or not.
His application, called NOBL, includes a BS button that users can click if they see something online that they know isn’t true. They may also add external links to posts to prove that the material is fake.
Errol says that by collecting all this information, the system can show which posts can be trusted and whether a user is trustworthy or not. He believes that this will solve the problem of identifying misinformation online, while giving people the freedom to express their opinion.
“We don’t want to get rid of loud voices, but what we hope to do is be able to, instead of just shouting at each other, hopefully have more reasoned discussions,” he says.
Errol tells CoinGeek’s Charles Miller that the other problem he aims to tackle is the lack of privacy in social media. Instead of making money by harvesting user data and reselling it to third parties, as so many leading technology companies currently do, NOBL will use a micropayment system.
This will allow users to monetize content where they see fit and allow readers to tip writers or posts they find interesting. “The goal is to generate enough revenue from the subscriptions and the tips and that micro-economy that it can actually fund free use for others.”
Due to the Bitcoin SV blockchain’s high scaling capacity and low fees, micropayments are possible in a way that is not on other blockchains.
Users will also be able to control their news feeds by adjusting a slider, which Errol calls the ‘BS filter’, meaning people can choose what they see online rather than being at the mercy of whatever algorithm is put in place by social media companies .
Errol explains that he was motivated to build NOBL to solve real-world problems, such as the spread of fake news online and the concentration of power currently enjoyed by Big Tech.
The impact these issues have on democratic society became increasingly apparent in the Donald Trump era, with the former president banned from Twitter for spreading misinformation about the 2020 US presidential election and the role his tweets played in the 2021 US Capitol attack.
Errol hopes to transform the future of social media by harnessing the power of Bitcoin SV, but he stresses that the digital asset will only be the “plumber” that underpins the product and not the main attraction.
“The fact that it uses Bitcoin SV is not going to affect whether or not someone is interested. If it’s a product that’s going to be successful because it solves a problem, investment will follow,” he says.
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