The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) uses path attributes, including ORIGIN, to determine Internet traffic routing. The ORIGIN attribute signifies how a route was introduced into BGP, with values like IGP, EGP, and INCOMPLETE.

Despite guidelines stating the ORIGIN attribute should not be modified, experiments have revealed that approximately 70% of observed paths exhibit a different ORIGIN value than what was originally set. This manipulation is often performed by Autonomous Systems (ASes) to influence route selection and divert traffic, thereby increasing revenue.

Researchers have observed ASes rewriting ORIGIN to IGP to make their routes more favorable. This practice, though not officially sanctioned, has become a prevalent strategy in the competitive landscape of Internet routing. While an Internet-Draft proposed its deprecation, the reality of route selection remains largely revenue-driven, leading many network operators to adapt by rewriting ORIGIN to remain competitive. Investigations by James Bensley and Celsa Sánchez have highlighted the widespread nature of this phenomenon, particularly in regions like LACNIC.