Broadcasters, publishers, news agencies and social media platforms say they will work together to “rapidly identify” and “stop the spread of harmful Coronavirus disinformation”
The Trusted News Initiative (TNI) was established last year to protect audiences from false information around moments of jeopardy and elections.
Now, it is going to extend its efforts, by putting in place a shared alert system. Launching today, partners will be able to alert each other to disinformation about coronavirus, so that content can be reviewed promptly by platforms and so that publishers don’t “unwittingly republish disinformation.”
The alerts will also flag up any content that undermines trust, such as identifying imposter content which claims to come from a trusted source.
“The BBC and all our partners feel an urgent sense of responsibility to give everybody the very best, most accurate information, we can during this time of crisis. It’s vital that we all have access to the facts so we know how to protect ourselves, our friends and families,” said Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC.
“These are challenging times for each and every one of us. We’ll do everything we can, working together, to stop disinformation about Coronavirus in its tracks.”
Partners within the TNI are: BBC, Facebook, Google/YouTube, Twitter, Microsoft, AFP, Reuters, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Hindu, CBC/Radio-Canada, First Draft, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
