Granted Patent B2

US 12,639,507 · App. 18/426,781 · Granted May 26, 2026

Inventors: Atul Gupta (Cupertino, CA); Avesta Hojjati (Austin, TX)

Assignee: DigiCert, Inc.

G06F40/10G06F16/164

Abstract

Claims (48)

1 . A method performed by a validation server comprising a processing device, a network interface, and a memory storing computer instructions of a content credibility manager, the validation server being associated with a trusted certificate authority, the method comprising steps of:

evaluating an online article to derive credibility information, the online article including textual and/or graphical content that is accessible via one or more content-sharing platforms;

automatically identifying, from the textual and/or graphical content, a plurality of ingredients that make up the online article, each ingredient corresponding to a respective cited source, statement, statistic, graphical component, or sub-content portion relied upon by the online article;

determining a chain or tree that includes provenance information regarding the plurality of ingredients, the provenance information including at least a source identifier and a publication date of each ingredient;

calculating, by the content credibility manager, an overall credibility score as part of the credibility information based on a publisher credibility score, a plurality of ingredient credibility scores related to the plurality of ingredients, and a third-party verification credibility score, wherein calculating includes weighting each of the plurality of ingredient credibility scores based on an estimated percentage that each respective ingredient contributes overall to the online article;

creating an immutable provenance file including the chain or tree, the provenance information and publication dates of each ingredient, and the overall credibility score, wherein creating the immutable provenance file comprises generating a cryptographic hash of the immutable provenance file and digitally signing the cryptographic hash using an X509 certificate issued by the trusted certificate authority; and

adding the credibility information to metadata associated with the online article such that the credibility information is viewable by an end user when the online article is accessed, wherein the metadata includes the immutable provenance file.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the credibility information includes a credibility score comprising the overall credibility score.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising a step of calculating the credibility score based on the publisher credibility score, the plurality of ingredient credibility scores, and the third-party verification credibility score.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of calculating the credibility score includes weighting each of the plurality of ingredient credibility scores based on an estimated percentage that each respective ingredient contributes overall to the online article, wherein the estimated percentage is determined from an automated parsing that associates each ingredient with corresponding text spans or graphical regions of the online article.

5 . The method of claim 3 , of updating the credibility score based on changes to the publisher credibility score, the plurality of ingredient credibility scores, and/or the third-party verification credibility score, and updating the cryptographic hash and digitally signing an updated cryptographic hash after said updating.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a chain or tree that includes determining provenance information comprising origination information for each ingredient in addition to the source identifier and the publication date.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising steps of:

creating an immutable provenance file including the provenance information and publication dates of each ingredient; and

adding the immutable provenance file to the metadata, wherein the immutable provenance file is tamper-evident based on the cryptographic hash and the digital signature.

8 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising, for each ingredient, a step of determining an accuracy of a citation, interpretation, or translation of the respective ingredient with respect to the online article, and storing an accuracy indicator for the respective ingredient in the chain or tree.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of determining whether the textual content includes one or more instances of satire, parody, opinion, unverifiable statements, inaccurate statements, propaganda, deceptive title, and/or logical fallacies.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising a step of incorporating information regarding the one or more instances within the metadata to enable the end user to view the one or more instances along with the textual content, including a location indicator identifying a line, sentence, or graphical region corresponding to each instance.

11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising a step of enabling a third-party reviewer to modify or add to the credibility information based on presence of the one or more instances.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of creating a view that includes at least a portion of the textual and/or graphical content and at least a portion of the metadata.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the portion of the metadata includes at least a credibility score that estimates credibility of the online article.

14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising a step of enabling the end user to expand a window to view a larger portion of the metadata.

15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of enabling one or more third-party reviewers to analyze the online article to determine an accuracy of the credibility information and to modify the credibility information accordingly, wherein each modification is recorded as a reviewer attestation in the immutable provenance file.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising a step of enabling the one or more third-party reviewers to apply an X509 certificate to the online article, wherein applying the X509 certificate comprises digitally signing the reviewer attestation or a modified immutable provenance file using the X509 certificate.

17 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer logic that enables a processing device of a validation server associated with a trusted certificate authority to:

evaluate an online article to derive credibility information, the online article including textual and/or graphical content that is accessible via one or more content-sharing platforms;

automatically identify, from the textual and/or graphical content, a plurality of ingredients that make up the online article, each ingredient corresponding to a respective cited source, statement, statistic, graphical component, or sub-content portion relied upon by the online article;

determine a chain or free that includes provenance information regarding the plurality of ingredients, the provenance information including at least a source identifier and a publication date of each ingredient;

calculate an overall credibility score as part of the credibility information based on a publisher credibility score, a plurality of ingredient credibility scores related to the plurality of ingredients, and a third-party verification credibility score, wherein calculating includes weighting each of the plurality of ingredient credibility scores based on an estimated percentage that each respective ingredient contributes overall to the online article;

create an immutable provenance file including the chain or tree, the provenance information and publication dates of each ingredient, and the overall credibility score, wherein creating the immutable provenance file comprises generating a cryptographic hash of the immutable provenance file and digitally signing the cryptographic hash using an X509 certificate issued by the trusted certificate authority; and

add the credibility information to metadata associated with the online article such that the credibility information is viewable by an end user when the online article is accessed, wherein the metadata includes the immutable provenance file.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the credibility information includes a credibility score, and wherein the computer logic further enables the processing device to:

calculate the credibility score based on a publisher credibility score, a plurality of ingredient credibility scores related to a plurality of ingredients making up the textual and/or graphical content of the online article, and a third-party verification credibility score; and

weight each of the plurality of ingredient credibility scores based on an estimated percentage that each respective ingredient contributes overall to the online article, wherein the estimated percentage is determined from automated parsing that associates each ingredient with corresponding text spans or graphical regions of the online article.

19 . A system comprising:

a processing device; and

a memory device configured to store computer instructions enabling the processing device of a validation server associated with a trusted certificate authority to perform steps of

evaluating an online article to derive credibility information, the online article including textual and/or graphical content that is accessible via one or more content-sharing platforms;

automatically identifying, from the textual and/or graphical content, a plurality of ingredients that make up the online article, each ingredient corresponding to a respective cited source, statement, statistic, graphical component, or sub-content portion relied upon by the online article;

determining a chain or tree that includes provenance information regarding the plurality of ingredients, the provenance information including at least a source identifier and a publication date of each ingredient;

calculating an overall credibility score as part of the credibility information based on a publisher credibility score, a plurality of ingredient credibility scores related to the plurality of ingredients, and a third-party verification credibility score, wherein calculating includes weighting each of the plurality of ingredient credibility scores based on an estimated percentage that each respective ingredient contributes overall to the online article;

creating an immutable provenance file including the chain or tree, the provenance information and publication dates of each ingredient, and the overall credibility score, wherein creating the immutable provenance file comprises generating a cryptographic hash of the immutable provenance file and digitally signing the cryptographic hash using an X509 certificate issued by the trusted certificate authority; and

adding the credibility information to metadata associated with the online article such that the credibility information is viewable by an end user when the online article is accessed, wherein the metadata includes the immutable provenance file.

20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the computer instructions further enable the processing device to:

determine a chain or tree that includes provenance information regarding a plurality of ingredients that make up the textual and/or graphical content of the online article, the provenance information including at least origination information, the source identifier, and the publication date of each ingredient;

create an immutable file including the provenance information and publication dates of each ingredient and the overall credibility score;

add the immutable file to the metadata, wherein the immutable provenance file is tamper-evident based on the cryptographic hash and the digital signature generated using the X509 certificate; and

determine, for each ingredient, an accuracy of a citation, interpretation, or translation of the respective ingredient with respect to the online article, and store an accuracy indicator for the respective ingredient in the chain or tree.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (22)