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Real Scenario: Marcus’s Environmental Story

Marcus Webb is a freelance journalist documenting illegal dumping near a protected wetland. He has photos, a government inspection report, and a source on the city’s environmental team. He’s been writing for The Bay Observer, which just joined PressChain. This is how Marcus publishes his story on PressChain.

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Before You Publish

You need three things:
1

PressKey set up and funded

Install PressKey from key.presschain.io. Get testnet PRESS from the faucet, or use real PRESS on mainnet. You need ~30 PRESS for the publish fee.Set up PressKey →
2

A Reporter role (or higher)

You need at least the Reporter role to publish Capsules. This requires bonding a small amount of PRESS - economic accountability behind your work.Your outlet admin can set this up for you if your newsroom is already on PressChain.
3

Your evidence ready

Gather your sources before you publish. Archived web pages, documents, photos, transcripts. You’ll attach these as part of your Capsule.

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The Publishing Flow

When Marcus clicks Publish in WordPress: 
Article goes live on BayObserver.com immediately
              │
              │ (simultaneously)
              ▼
SYNC plugin creates a Capsule draft
              │
              ▼
Marcus reviews the draft in the Gutenberg sidebar
Adds evidence, confirms contributors, reviews claims
              │
              ▼
Marcus clicks "Submit to PressChain"
PressKey opens for signing
Marcus approves (30 PRESS fee)
              │
              ▼
Capsule enters 72-hour public acceptance window
              │
      ┌───────┴────────┐
      ▼                ▼
   Accepted         Rejected
  Canonical badge   "Not Canonical"
  Distribution on   No distribution

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Step by Step

1

Write and publish your article normally

In WordPress, write your article as you always would. When you’re ready, hit Publish. Your article goes live on your site immediately - no delay, no change to your workflow.
2

Open the PressChain panel in Gutenberg

In the right sidebar of the WordPress editor, you’ll see the PressChain panel. It shows a Capsule draft that SYNC automatically created from your article.
3

Review your structured claims

SYNC attempts to extract structured claims from your article text. For Marcus’s story, it might suggest:
  • [Reporting] City approved permits despite inspection violations (local scope)
  • [Confirmed] EPA inspection report dated Nov 3 confirms Category B violations
  • [Reporting] Wetland runoff detected within 200 meters of protected zone
You can edit, remove, or add claims. Be precise - claims are what get disputed if someone challenges your story.
4

Attach your evidence

For each piece of evidence, you upload the file or provide a URL:
EvidenceTypePrimary?
Archive.org snapshot of city permit pagearchived_page✓ Yes
EPA inspection report PDFdocument✓ Yes
Marcus’s site photosmediaNo
Source interview transcripttranscriptNo
Each item is hashed automatically. The hash is stored on PressChain permanently.
5

Confirm contributors

SYNC auto-fills Marcus as the author (Reporter role, 80% share). If an editor reviewed the piece, add them here (e.g., 20% share). This determines how rights revenue is split if the article is licensed.
6

Submit and sign

Click Submit to PressChain. PressKey opens showing:
  • Action: Capsule submission
  • Outlet: the-bay-observer
  • Fee: 30 PRESS
Click Approve. The Capsule enters the acceptance queue.

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Watching Your Capsule

After submission, the Gutenberg panel updates live: 
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🔗 PressChain                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Capsule #412 · Pending Acceptance       │
│                                         │
│ ████████░░  79% Yes  (87 votes)        │
│ Quorum: ✓ Met (6.2%)                   │
│ Closes: Jan 12, 2024  11:00 AM         │
│                                         │
│ Integrity:    Clean                     │
│ View on Explorer →                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
You can also watch from anywhere at explorer.presschain.io/capsule/412.

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If Your Capsule Is Accepted

After 72 hours, if Marcus’s story passes:
  • The Gutenberg panel shows ✓ Canonical on PressChain
  • The article page shows an integrity badge with an Explorer link
  • Distribution to the Press Network activates
  • Rights licensing becomes available on rights.presschain.io

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If Your Capsule Is Rejected

Your article stays live on your site. There’s no public “failure” banner. You’ll see Not Canonical status in your dashboard. Common reasons:
  • Quorum not met - not enough voters participated. Try resubmitting when your audience is more engaged.
  • Approval below 60% - voters found issues. Check the vote breakdown in the Portal for signals, strengthen evidence, and revise.
You can submit a revised Capsule at any time. Revision goes through acceptance just like the original. Your outlet’s acceptance history improves over time as your newsroom builds its reputation on the protocol.