AuthentiScan: Video Authenticity Prototype

AuthentiScan is an experimental full-stack dApp that demonstrates the anchoring of video authenticity metadata to the blockchain. Users can upload a video or provide a URL to compute a SHA-256 Content Hash, which is then used as a Content-Based Identity. This identity is processed by a Prototype AI Analysis Module (Simulated) and anchored as an immutable Verification Record on a Soroban smart contract.

Note

This project is a functional prototype currently deployed on the Stellar Testnet. It is intended for research and demonstration purposes and is not yet suitable for production use or as a source of legal proof.

🎥 Demo Video

This short demo showcases the AuthentiScan prototype running on the Stellar Testnet, including hashing, simulated AI analysis, and on-chain anchoring.

▶️ Watch on YouTube

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Prototype Features

• Content-Based Identity — Videos are identified by the SHA-256 Content Hash of their raw bytes rather than transient URLs or filenames.
• Prototype AI Analysis — An experimental module provides probabilistic authenticity scores (simulated for demonstration).
• Stellar Testnet Anchoring — Immutable recording of Verification Records to Soroban smart contracts.
• Auto-Verification — Automatic blockchain lookup for previously anchored SHA-256 Content Hashes.
• Audit Logging — Visibility into anchored records with direct links to public Stellar Explorers.
• Wallet Authorization — Submissions require cryptographic signatures via the Freighter wallet.
• Deterministic Pipeline — Consistent hash generation for remote URLs using version-locked tools.

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Technical Concept: Content-Based Identity

AuthentiScan prioritizes Content-Based Identity. All video inputs are resolved into canonical byte sequences and hashed using the SHA-256 Content Hash. The hash serves as the unique identifier, ensuring that the same video produces the same Verification Record regardless of its location.

See docs/experiments.md for detailed determinism verification data.

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Architecture

graph TD
    subgraph "Client (Browser)"
        LF[Local File]
        RU[Remote URL]
    end

    subgraph "Experimental Logic"
        DL[yt-dlp Download]
        CH[SHA-256 Content Hash]
        AI[Prototype AI Analysis Module]
    end

    subgraph "Stellar Testnet"
        FW[Freighter Wallet]
        SC[Soroban Contract]
        SL[Stellar Ledger]
    end

    LF --> CH
    RU --> DL --> CH
    CH --> AI --> FW --> SC --> SL

    style SC fill:#e67e22,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:2px
    style SL fill:#27ae60,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:2px
    style CH fill:#2980b9,stroke:#fff,stroke-width:2px

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Smart Contract

The Soroban contract manages the lifecycle of a Verification Record using the SHA-256 Content Hash as the primary key.

Function	Description
submit_verification	Anchor analysis findings to the ledger
get_verification	Query an existing Verification Record by hash
get_verification_count	Total number of anchored records

Technical Properties:

• Immutability: Records are write-once; no update or delete functions exist.
• Unique Keying: The contract prevents duplicate entries for the same SHA-256 Content Hash.
• Auth Enforcement: Uses the require_auth pattern to verify transaction signers.

→ Full API documentation and deployment guides: contract/README.md

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Quick Start (Demo Setup)

Prerequisites

Tool	Recommended Version	Verification Command
Node.js	v18+	node -v
Rust	v1.71+	rustc --version
Stellar CLI	Recent	stellar --version
yt-dlp	Latest	yt-dlp --version
WASM Target	-	rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown

1. Build & Deploy Contract

cd contract
stellar contract build

# Configure testnet
stellar network add testnet \
  --rpc-url https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org:443 \
  --network-passphrase "Test SDF Network ; September 2015"

# Setup deployer
stellar keys generate deployer --network testnet --fund

# Deploy
stellar contract deploy \
  --wasm target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/video_verification.wasm \
  --source deployer --network testnet

2. Run Prototype Frontend

cd frontend

# Setup environment
echo "NEXT_PUBLIC_CONTRACT_ID=YOUR_CONTRACT_ID" > .env.local
echo "NEXT_PUBLIC_SOROBAN_RPC_URL=https://soroban-testnet.stellar.org" >> .env.local

npm install
npm run dev

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Scope & Constraints

• AI Module: The Prototype AI Analysis provides simulated confidence scores. Real forensic inferencing is a planned future enhancement.
• Hash Sensitivity: This system identifies bitstreams. Any modification to the video file (e.g., transcoding) will change the SHA-256 Content Hash.
• Privacy Assurance: No video content is uploaded to the chain. Only fingerprints are submitted.
• Stellar Testnet: Current deployment is restricted to the testnet environment.

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Project Status

Developed by: Tunahan Türker Ertürk — LinkedIn
License: MIT

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© 2026 AuthentiScan — Experimental Research Prototype