• by Fern Siegel , September 3, 2018

AP wants to use blockchain tech to further news distribution. A partnership with Civil, a 2-year-old company that leverages cryptoeconomics, will run AP news stories on its platform.

Civil, a for-profit company funded with $5 million from Consensys, will track AP content to ensure it is properly licensed. Conversely, AP content will be available to Civil’s 14 newsrooms.

One key reason for the tracking: news stories are often republished without credit or compensation.

Matthew Iles, founder-CEO of Civil, told TechCrunch he wants Civil to become the new economy for journalism, upending the ad-based revenue model.

AP will own CVL, Civil’s cryptocurrency; Civil will begin issuing tokens Sept. 18. Civil sees the tokens as a way to control and push high-quality reporting.

Jim Kennedy, AP’s senior vice president for strategy and enterprise development, stated: “Civil is opening up another new space with interesting technology to explore and a commitment to good journalism.”

Civil says additional partnerships will be announced in the coming weeks.

Civil is one of several blockchain journalism startups. Others include Factmata, Nwzer, Userfeeds and Po.et, founded by former Washington Post executive Jarrod Dicker.