The Originator Profile (OP) Collaborative Innovation Partnership (OP-CIP), comprising media and advertising-related companies from Japan and abroad (Chief Director: Jun Murai, Senior Advanced Research Project Professor, Keio University), has been working on the development and social implementation of Originator Profile (OP), a technology that verifies the origin of online articles and advertisements, as part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ “Development and Demonstration Project for Countermeasure Technologies against Dis-/Mis-information on the Internet (FY2025).” OP-CIP has now completed demonstration tests involving the deployment of OP technology at media companies and local government websites, as well as ad delivery trials with the participation of advertisers. These tests confirmed that websites and article content can be published with their authenticity assured. Development of the servers and other infrastructure required to deploy OP technology on websites has also made significant progress toward implementation.
Highlights of the Project Results
1. Deployment on Media and Local Government Websites, with Verification of Spoofing Prevention
OP technology was deployed on the websites of major media outlets as well as local governments including Tottori and Aichi Prefectures (some are still in the process of trial deployment). An environment was established in which the browser can verify that articles were published by a legitimate originator and have not been tampered with.
2. Safe Digital Advertising Transactions Demonstrated with Participation from Local Governments and Private Companies
Local governments and private companies participated as advertisers, delivering ads labeled with originator profile information and confirming that the originator of each ad can be clearly identified within the actual digital advertising supply chain. These results represent a step toward achieving greater transparency in advertising transactions.
3. Global Release of Technical Specifications and Strengthening of Partnerships Toward International Standardization
OP’s technical specifications were released and presented at W3C TPAC 2025, promoting understanding within the international web technology community. Discussions were held not only with engineers from platform operators and overseas media organizations, but also with stakeholders in related technologies such as content provenance verification. These efforts have laid the groundwork for consensus building and future partnerships.
(1) Combating impersonation of news outlets and Fraudulent Ads
In recent years, the misuse of generative AI and other technologies has led to the creation of sophisticated false news outlets and fraudulent ads that impersonate public figures, causing social confusion and financial harm. The current internet, however, lacks a reliable mechanism for verifying who originated a given piece of information. OP technology attaches a digital signature to prove the originator information to web content, making it easy for users to identify whether information comes from a source they can trust. In this project, the technology was applied to live, operational websites and advertising transactions to verify its viability for social implementation.
(2) Deployment on Media and Local Government Websites
In this demonstration, an originator verification system was deployed on the websites of media, companies, and local governments, enabling readers to independently confirm that articles are authentic and have not been tampered with.
Participating Media, Companies, and Local Governments
(Media/Companies) Akita Sakigake Shimpo, The Asahi Shimbun Company, The Kyoto Shimbun, Sankei Shimbun, Jiji Press, The Japan Times, Shogakukan, The Chugoku Shimbun, The Chunichi Shimbun, Dentsu Inc., The Fukushima Minyu Shimbun, The Hokkaido Shimbun Press, THE HOKKOKU SHIMBUN, The Mainichi Newspapers, Miyazaki Nichinichi Shimbun, The Yomiuri Shimbun
(Local governments) Tottori Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture
Functions Verified
The following functions were confirmed to operate correctly on the websites of media outlets, companies, and local governments.
・Valid third-party verification (Site Profile or SP): Proves that the site operator is an existing, verified organization
・Article tampering detection (Contents Attestation or CA): Proves that article content has not been altered after publication
(3) Demonstrating Transparency in Advertising Transactions
In the digital advertising space, there is an ongoing problem of ads being placed on unintended sites such as disinformation outlets, resulting in damage to the advertiser’s brand image. In this demonstration, local governments and private companies participated as advertisers, delivering OP-enabled ad banners through actual ad distribution systems (DSP/SSP). Metrics were measured for brand safety (whether the ad placement was safe), viewability (whether the ad was actually seen), and IVT (invalid traffic), confirming the effectiveness of OP-enabled advertising transactions.
(4) Verifying the Support Infrastructure for Wider Adoption
In addition to completing the technical system, this project conducted detailed operational trials for media companies and other organizations (January to February 2026) to verify whether the technology could be operated in practice. A deployment team was assembled to handle screening, issuance, and technical support. A CA SaaS platform for the demonstration was also provided, enabling digital signatures (CA) to be easily issued and embedded through a web browser. This confirmed that the technical barriers to adoption can be significantly reduced.
(5) Progress Toward International Standardization
To make OP technology available not only in Japan but worldwide, international standardization efforts are also underway. At the annual conference W3C TPAC 2025, OP’s technical specifications were publicly released and presented. Engineers from platform operators and overseas media organizations participated, deepening understanding of the technology and building connections within the international web technology community. Discussions were also held with stakeholders in related technologies such as content provenance verification, leading to consensus on future technical collaboration.
(6) Future Outlook
Building on this year’s results, OP-CIP will accelerate the following initiatives toward realizing an internet that everyone can make informed decisions.
・Easier deployment: To support the wide variety of content management systems (CMS) used by media outlets and local governments, OP-CIP will advance the development of cloud-based services, creating an environment that makes it easier to deploy OP.
・Native browser display: At present, a dedicated browser extension is required for verification, but OP-CIP will strengthen collaboration with browser developers so that in the future, users can see at a glance whether a site is legitimate without any additional steps.
・Advancing the advertising business: Beyond safety, OP-CIP will leverage the unique capabilities of OP technology to create new forms of advertising value and establish it as a viable business model.
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