Gono Protocol｜Provenance infrastructure for humans and AI

The Problem: A Crisis of Trust in Modern Journalism

The Global Challenge

The global news ecosystem faces an unprecedented crisis. In the digital age, while access to information has become easier than ever, the integrity and trustworthiness of that information has severely degraded. The very platforms designed to inform the public have become tools for manipulation, censorship, and oppression.

Key Problems Identified

1. Power and Narrative Control

Modern media appears diverse but is predominantly controlled by a few powerful entities. These gatekeepers can:

Influence public perception by promoting stories that serve their interests
Suppress information that threatens their power
Create an asymmetric information environment where the public receives a curated, biased view of reality

2. Misinformation and Disinformation Epidemic

Centralized, profit-driven digital platforms prioritize engagement over accuracy. This has resulted in:

Widespread fabrication and dissemination of fake news
Manipulation of public emotions for political objectives
Erosion of societal harmony and trust
Citizens unable to distinguish genuine journalism from sophisticated propaganda

3. Lack of Transparency and Traceability

Once news is published:

Its origins become opaque and unverifiable
Alterations and edits occur without public knowledge
No mechanism exists to trace stories back to their source
Bias can be injected and inconvenient facts retracted without accountability

4. Threats to Journalists

Those who cover sensitive topics face:

Immense political and legal pressure
Physical threats and intimidation
Imprisonment under oppressive laws
Zero protection for anonymous, secure reporting
Violation of fundamental press freedom principles

Case Study: Bangladesh — A Nation in Crisis

Bangladesh represents a stark example of systemic press oppression.

Current Situation

World Press Freedom Index Rank: 149th out of 180 countries (2025)
One of the least press-freedom countries in the world

Oppressive Legal Frameworks

Law	Impact
Digital Security Act (DSA) 2018	Criminalized online speech critical of the government
Cyber Security Act (CSA) 2023	Continued control and suppression of journalists' voices

Real Consequences

Journalists jailed for writing against oppression
Self-censorship has become the norm
Independent journalism is virtually non-existent
Powerful actors can erase inconvenient truths from the public record

The Core Problem: Centralized Architecture = Vulnerable Journalism

Existing news systems are built on centralized client-server architectures which are inherently:

Vulnerable to censorship — Content can be deleted or altered at will
Controllable by gatekeepers — Single points of failure enable manipulation
Non-transparent — No audit trail for content changes
Unsafe for journalists — Identity exposure puts reporters at risk

The fundamental need:

A technological solution that is decentralized to resist censorship, transparent to ensure accountability, and immutable to guarantee the permanence and authenticity of published information.

The Solution: Gono Moncho

Built on the Gono Protocol Blockchain

We introduce Gono Moncho — a complete decentralized ecosystem for verifiable journalism, built on top of the Gono Protocol blockchain infrastructure.

What is Gono Moncho?

Gono Moncho (meaning "People's Platform" in Bengali) is a:

Decentralized news publishing media ecosystem
Censorship-resistant platform for journalists
Economically self-sustaining community-governed system
Privacy-preserving environment using Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Why Gono Protocol as the Foundation?

The Gono Protocol provides the perfect blockchain infrastructure for Gono Moncho:

Gono Protocol Feature	How It Enables Gono Moncho
ERC-7053 Provenance Rail	Creates immutable "media receipts" — permanent records of all published content
Arweave Integration (Store Pallet)	"Pay-once, store-forever" ensures news cannot be deleted or censored
zk-SNARK Privacy Engine	Allows journalists to prove identity without exposing their wallet or real-world identity
SANUB Trust Logic	Algorithmically calculates the credibility of content and verifiers
Polkadot Security	Institutional-grade protection against state-level attacks

How Gono Moncho Solves Each Problem

Problem	Gono Moncho Solution
Deletion and Alteration	Content published on immutable ledger via Arweave — only the owner can modify, and all changes are versioned
Threats to Journalists	Zero-Knowledge Proofs enable anonymous publishing with verified authenticity
Misinformation	Multi-layer verification: AI Oracles + Community Verifiers + Journalistic Integrity Council
Narrative Control	NewsDAO governance ensures community-driven, decentralized editorial control
Lack of Accountability	All actions recorded on transparent public ledger with full audit trail
Sybil Attacks	Economic staking + Proof-of-Humanity (BrightID) prevents fake account manipulation

The Gono Moncho Ecosystem

Publishing Channels

Framework Integration — Allows existing news outlets to integrate with the ecosystem
Portal — A hub for verified journalists, analysts, and verifiers to publish and consume news

Key Roles

Role	Function	Incentive
Reporter	Publishes news with supporting evidence	Earns NEWS tokens and CRED reputation
Analyzer	Provides in-depth analysis and context	Earns CRED based on accuracy
Verifier	Community members who assess and flag content	Token rewards for honest participation

Dual Token Economy

NEWS Token (ERC-20) — Economic governance token for staking, fees, and DAO participation
CRED Token (Soulbound) — Non-transferable reputation token earned through quality contributions

The Flow: From Capture to Verification

┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   CAPTURE   │────▶│    STORE    │────▶│   VERIFY    │────▶│   CERTIFY   │────▶│    CHECK    │
│  (Content)  │     │  (Arweave)  │     │  (SANUB+AI) │     │ (ERC-7053)  │     │  (Audit)    │
└─────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └─────────────┘
       │                  │                   │                   │                   │
       ▼                  ▼                   ▼                   ▼                   ▼
    SDK + ZKP         Permanent          Multi-layer         On-chain           Public
    Metadata          Storage            Validation          Receipt            Explorer

Impact: Alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Ensures public access to information (Target 16.10)
Creates transparent, accountable institutions (Target 16.6)
Provides practical tools for justice against oppressive laws (Target 16.3)

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

Empowers marginalized voices
Prevents information-based political exclusion

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Novel digital infrastructure using cutting-edge technology
Resilient, sustainable, and reliable innovation for democratic societies

Conclusion: A New Era for Journalism

The crisis is clear. Traditional centralized media systems have failed to protect journalistic integrity, enabling censorship, misinformation, and threats to reporters who dare speak truth to power.

Gono Moncho offers a fundamentally new paradigm:

"A decentralized, self-sustaining, self-policing ecosystem where the financial and reputational incentives of all parties are aligned with the collective goal of producing and verifying truthful information."

By leveraging blockchain's unique capabilities—decentralization, immutability, transparency, and cryptoeconomics—Gono Moncho provides:

Freedom from censorship and oppression
Safety for journalists through cryptographic anonymity
Trust through multi-layer verification
Sustainability through value-capture tokenomics
Democracy through community governance

This is not just a platform. This is a movement to reclaim the truth.

For nations like Bangladesh, where press freedom ranks among the world's lowest, Gono Moncho represents hope — a technological intervention that gives power back to the people and protects those who fight for it.

Decentralized News Publishing & Censorship-Resistant Journalism