Benefits and drawbacks of conducting journalism over web3 : An overview on transparency, security and revenue.

Sammanfattning: This thesis analyzes the benefits and drawbacks of conducting journalism over web3 in the aspects of transparency, security and revenue model. Although there currently exist numerous studies on web3 and journalism, no one provides a concise overview on the topic linking these technologies to journalism. As a commissioned work, and to fill the academic gap found in the topic, qualitative research was carried out, mainly looking at published academic studies on the related topics, as well as to real-life projects that have implemented web3 technologies for different projects. The study found some relevant benefits of using web3 technologies, such as a higher degree of transparency, the ensured security against file corruption, as well as the savings implied when removing 3rd party institutions. However, some drawbacks include the unavoidable trade-off in transparency and privacy, some recent security threats against smart contracts as well as the volatility of maintenance fees. The study contributes to the development of web3 applications by highlighting the present challenges web3 faces currently, and for journalists considering taking advantage of this revolutionary technology by providing the reader with a brief overview of the current benefits and challenges that can affect the user.