BBC and major tech firms join forces to fight fake news
Plans to help tackle so-called “fake news” have been announced by the BBC and some of the biggest names in journalism and technology.
The new measures include an early warning system for use during elections or when lives may be at risk, extra online education and improved access to impartial resources for voters.
Major publishers, Google, Twitter and Facebook have helped devise the scheme.
The BBC’s partners who attended the summit are The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Facebook, Financial Times, First Draft, Google, The Hindu, and The Wall Street Journal. Other partners are AFP, CBC/Radio Canada, Microsoft, Reuters, and The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and the BBC is also consulting Twitter on areas of potential collaboration.
The BBC said the moves were “crucial steps” in fighting disinformation.
It follows criticism of big technology firms for failing to do enough to prevent the spread of “false news” – from scares about vaccines to stories manufactured to influence elections.
The group drew-up new plans including:
- Early warning system: creating a system so that organisations can alert each other rapidly when they discover disinformation that threatens human life or disrupts democracy during elections. The emphasis will be on moving quickly and collectively to undermine disinformation before it can take hold.
- Media education: a joint online media education campaign to support and promote media education messages.
- Voter information: co-operation on civic information around elections, so there is a common way to explain how and where to vote.
- Shared learning: particularly around high-profile elections.
Via BBC
