handling fake news and eyewitness media

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BEST PRACTICE IN HANDLING FAKE NEWS AND EYEWITNESS MEDIA


BEATING THE HOAXERS AT THEIR OWN GAME


BEATING THE HOAXERS

Beating the hoaxers at their own game


WHY BOTHER DEBUNKING?

On average, it takes more than 12 hours for a false claim on social media to be debunked

The false claim travels farther and faster than the debunk

Source: Shao, Ciampaglia et al, University of Indiana – ‘Hoaxy: A Platform for Tracking Online Misinformation



“Our analysis shows that tweets reporting unverified rumours spark a sudden burst of retweets within the very first minutes, showing that users tend to share early,

unverified reports rather than later confirmations or debunks.”

They also found that tweets sent in support of an unverified claim tend to generate the most retweets. This also aligns with the other finding that a (potentially) true rumor

is more interesting than a false one.

Source: Zubiaga et al, Warwick University: ‘Analysing How People Orient to and Spread Rumoursin Social Media by Looking at Conversational Threads'



On average, it takes more than 12 hours for a false claim on social media to be debunked

The false claim travels farther and faster than the debunk



Trust in news is falling in many countries


SOURCES OF FAKES

• Official sources of

propaganda

Here’s what you need to look out for:

Credit: Craig Silverman


SOURCES OF FAKES


propaganda

• Hoaxers and marketers



SOURCES OF FAKES


propaganda


• Fake news websites



SOURCES OF FAKES


propaganda



• Unintentional

propagators like…



SOURCES OF FAKES


propaganda



• Unintentional

propagators like…

• Journalists, news

organisations, you, me

EVERYONE Credit: Craig Silverman


HOW TO SPOT A FAKE

• Find the original source.

• Check the About page.

• Run the domain through whois.icann.org

• Google every name, reverse image search all photos.

• Compare against other sources.

• Think about the motivation for sharing/creating it.



EFFECTIVE DEBUNKING

Strong, clear visuals

These images are both fake, but the

debunkers are unwittingly sharing

it further


EFFECTIVE DEBUNKING


• Don’t re-share the fake/false image without changing it

• Be clear

• Add context

• Make the dry, boring debunk as shareable as the salacious lie

• Use humour and creativity where appropriate


EFFECTIVE DEBUNKING



EFFECTIVE DEBUNKING

Use ‘nofollow’ links

<a href=”www.spam.com” rel=’nofollow’>Spam</a>

Or risk boosting the hoax’s SEO

Credit: Aviv Ovadya


EFFECTIVE DEBUNKING

Humour and creativity

Make people want to

share the debunk!


EFFECTIVE DEBUNKING



EFFECTIVE DEBUNKING


😕


HANDLING GRAPHIC IMAGERY



There is more graphic imagery to filter than ever before…

Credit: Sam Dubberley



…and we’re not ready




When is it most traumatic? (Emhub Study)

• When they were not expecting to see something horrific. • When they were repeatedly exposed to distressing content. • When they were looking for or at distressing content which was then not subsequently used in news output, reporting or advocacy campaigns.

• When content reminded the individual of personal experiences or was in some way connected to them.

• When the audio in a video contained sounds of human suffering such as screaming or people begging for their lives.




The personal impact can be profound



Personal care



Ensure that, before introducing new social media newsgathering techniques into the newsrooms, ensure that the potential for viewing more distressing or traumatic content is

taken into account.

Ensure workflows for introducing video on to general servers includes warnings of traumatic content.

Ensure staff rotation policies are in place so staff are given breaks from viewing distressing or traumatic content during shifts. Also ensure that viewing social media is not left to one staff

member during any given shift.

Advice for managers

handling fake news and eyewitness media

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