The cryptocurrency market is riding on misinformation: what will the media be like in the future and what will be its purpose?

As someone who works in the media, I was reluctant to write an article on this topic. However, as an editor and someone involved in the web media and publishing industry, I believe that I am allowed to express my thoughts on running a media outlet, and that is how I have continued to do so.

I hope that you will continue to read this article with the understanding that it is not a representation of any organization, but rather my personal thoughts. Also, please understand that I have no intention of criticizing any particular organization or individual.

◉ "Editor-in-Chief Focus"

The editor-in-chief of Iolite, a business magazine that covers topics in next-generation technology, finance, and economics, follows the hot topics and cutting-edge news.

On October 16, the English version of Cointelegraph reported through X (formerly Twitter) that a Bitcoin spot ETF would be approved.

However, Cointelegraph later corrected the report, stating that it was a false report, and published an article in both English and Japanese explaining how the false report on X came about, along with an apology.

The section on the history of the article included a description of how unreliable information was shared from a Telegram channel to an internal Slack channel, and then posted on X by another employee without fact-checking, along with a screenshot of the Telegram post.

The article also added that this action violated Cointelegraph's social media management process.

Following this misinformation, the price hit a peak of $30,625 on the 16th, but after the correction was reported, the price recovered and settled at around $28,480 at the closing price.

However, even after that, the price continued to rise, with dovish comments from the US financial authorities and rising US stocks, and reached a new record high of $36,743 since the beginning of the year on October 23rd.

With the goal of the Bitcoin spot ETF approval, which is becoming certain, various factors have been factored in, and as a result, it is still performing well, hovering around $35,500 (as of November 2nd).

Fact-checking in the media is one of the most sensitive issues and difficult to handle.

When it comes to the subject of cryptocurrencies, there are media outlets whose members are unclear, and in rare cases, some media outlets decide to delete false reports as if they never happened and keep quiet.

Even in such an environment, there was a lot to learn from Cointelegraph's response, which made an effort to accurately report this series of events with an apology.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas-linked militant groups have received tens of millions of dollars worth of crypto assets, which are being used to support the current Middle East wars.

However, blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis and others have refuted the report, stating that the funding is in the range of a few thousand dollars.

The Wall Street Journal did not respond to the refutation, and has not yet corrected it.

It is unclear whether this incident was the trigger, but it is said that in response to the report, prominent lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have made moves to strengthen regulations on crypto assets in the United States.

In these days of information overload and confusion, I feel that this is a deep-rooted problem due to the media's revenue structure, but I was reminded that we need to be even more careful when handling information about relatively new technologies such as cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and AI.

Meanwhile, technological substitution is also gradually progressing. In October, ChatGPT implemented a function that adds real-time information to the site, although it is only available to paid members.

Until now, ChatGPT could only access information up to September 2021, and it was considered inferior when it came to accessing the latest information and providing real-time, breaking news articles.

It was expected, but it seems that it has finally started to handle the latest information. It is easy to imagine that this will lead to the elimination of at least a few news sites.

In the "generative AI search experience (SGE)" being demoed by Google's testing division, Search Labs, a link to the source is displayed as the answer to the search, but the answer generated by AI is also displayed at the same time.

This means that in the future, the simpler the information gathering, the more information can be obtained without going to the article. There may even be a future where methods for optimizing online articles to Google specifications, such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization) measures, will no longer work.

While there are companies that distribute information in an organized way like major media, I think there are also many individuals who distribute information using social media. Currently, online articles are ranked according to Google's algorithm, including their originality.

Now that anyone can become a medium that distributes useful information by searching the internet, perhaps what ultimately attracts people is the humanity of the writer who creates the originality. There seems to be a renewed recognition that writers are creators.

Image: Shutterstock

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◉Noriaki Yagi
While attending university, he worked in the food and beverage industry. From that experience, he launched a restaurant consulting business and a human resources dispatch business in the amusement field, and became its representative. At the same time, he started using social media to establish his own brand. After achieving a total of 10,000 followers on social media, his recognition increased and he launched his own apparel brand. In September 2021, he joined J-CAM Co., Ltd. After working on YouTube and Twitter, he became editor-in-chief in April 2022. In March 2023, he launched "Iolite".

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