Forum Discussing Issues Facing Media Organizations Held in Taipei; Participants Discuss Use of Originator Profile Technology

By Masatsugu Sonoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

15:03 JST, July 7, 2025

TAIPEI — The Asian Journalism Forum, an event organized by a Taiwanese private organization that brings together media representatives from Asian countries, was held in Taipei on Saturday and Sunday.

Participants at the forum, organized by the Foundation for Excellent Journalism Award, discussed issues facing media organizations, with the focus this year on the impact of algorithms and generative AI on reporting. The use of the Originator Profile (OP), a digital technology that enhances the safety of the Internet, was also discussed.

Makoto Yoshiike, deputy secretary general of the Originator Profile Collaborative Innovation Partnership, which promotes the development and social implementation of OP, took the stage on Sunday. He spoke about the efforts being made in Japan and stressed the need for a system that would allow sources of information to be verified on the Internet.

OP is a system that allows users to confirm the origin of information on the Internet by adding the third-party verified profile of its creator or publisher to articles and advertisements that use it. Users can easily identify false or disinformation and malicious advertisements. In Japan, media companies that are members of the partnership, such as the Yomiuri Shimbun, are aiming to launch the system by the end of this year.