diff --git a/src/models/entities/Participant.ts b/src/models/entities/Participant.ts
index b279e64..ba0c741 100644
--- a/src/models/entities/Participant.ts
+++ b/src/models/entities/Participant.ts
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ export abstract class Participant {
   /**
    * how the participant got into the system
    */
-  @Column({ nullable: true })
+  @Column({ nullable: true, default: "backend" })
   @IsOptional()
   @IsEmail()
   created_via?: string;