ABSTRACT

The systematic verification of information is at the heart of professional journalism. This chapter shows how social media and mobile technology can help and, occasionally, hinder verification. It raises practical and ethical concerns as we walk a fine line in being sceptical, but not cynical in our approach. Increasingly one of the main roles of the reporter in breaking news situations is to establish the truth of the various rumours circulating about current events: inevitably breaking news attracts hoaxers, trolls and those who wish to exploit circumstances for political or financial gain. The chapter looks at a range of useful authentication tools for verifying text, images and video content. These include Google Images, Facebook Insight and Banjo Discovery. It also looks at how journalists cope with verifying traumatic material, such as videos from terrorist organisations. It contains an interview with Matt Cooke of Google News Labs.