Here are some useful links on the fight against disinformation and how to use AI in journalism.
First Draft News
The non-profit First Draft News created a rich archive of resources on fighting disinformation in its years of operation from 2015 to 2022, and they can still be found on its site.
Verification Handbook
BuzzFeed media editor Craig Silverman was a pioneer in the field of verification of content uploaded to social media, and recently updated his Verification Handbook, an essential guide on how to debunk online falsehoods.
https://datajournalism.com/read/handbook/verification-3
AFP Fact-Checking Stylebook
AFP news agency has the world’s biggest dedicated fact-checking team, with more than 140 journalists working in 80 countries and in 26 languages. Its Fact-Checking Stylebook is available online and includes a recent entry on AI.
https://factcheck.afp.com/afp-fact-checking-stylebook
New York Times – State Sponsored Disinformation
A four-part video series by the New York Times on state sponsored disinformation campaigns and the challenges of fighting them.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/what-is-disinformation-fake-news-playlist
EU vs. Disinfo
The fight against Russian disinformation in Europe – “EUvsDisinfo’s core objective is to increase public awareness and understanding of the Kremlin’s disinformation operations, and to help citizens in Europe and beyond develop resistance to digital information and media manipulation”.
Africa Check
Africa Check was the pioneering fact-checking site on the African continent, where medical disinformation is a major concern.
Full Fact
The UK’s leading fact-checking organisation, Full Fact.
Propaganda – Edward Bernays
To understand fake news, you need to understand propaganda – and the best starting point is Edward Bernays’ 1928 “Propaganda”, which explained its history and looked at its application in the private sector as public relations. “Whether, in any instance, propaganda is good or bad depends upon the merit of the cause urged, and the correctness of the information published”.
http://www.historyisaweapon.org/defcon1/bernprop.html
PEN America
You can’t believe people you know are stupid enough to believe fake news and conspiracy theories? Here is some good advice on how to handle these conversations.
https://pen.org/how-to-talk-to-friends-and-family-who-share-misinformation/
Columbia Journalism Review – AI in News
https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/artificial-intelligence-in-the-news.php
European Fact-Checking Standard Network
International Fact-Checking Network
https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/know-more
Further Resources:
As part of his research for his upcoming book on fake news, Eric amassed a large data base of resources, so please get in touch if there are any specific areas that you are working on and could do with some assistance.
You can also follow him on X (Formerly Twitter) – @ericwishart. His lists include one on fake new and another, media ethics, which follows allows kinds of accounts related to the media, fact-checking etc.