Fact Checking: A normalized feature of a broken system
13 days until the US election. And following along there's a consistent theme that's more prevalent than ever.
?Fact checking.
?Whether the fact checking from the anchors Linsey Davis , and David Muir during the ABC News debate.
?Whether the debunked claims of endorsement of Donald Trump from Taylor Swift or 麦当劳 .
?Whether it's the repeatedly disproven claims of pet eating Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.
And for the UK, the rapidly spread disinformation claims following the awful killings in Southport that led to hateful riots targeting immigrant communities and housing.
?What is undeniable is that the need for fact-checking has become normalised.
Fact-checking has become more necessary than ever.
Fact-checking content became more prevalent in news media during the 2000s, but its surge can be directly tied to the rise of social media platforms in the 2010s. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have become powerful channels for spreading information—and misinformation—at an unprecedented scale.
Fact-checking organizations such as PolitiFact and Full Fact initially focused on verifying statements from politicians and media outlets, but soon found themselves battling waves of misinformation stemming from these platforms. Even more light hearted platforms like Snopes.com have played a role in debunking disinformation, evolving from their role as verifier-in-chief of urban myths.
The rise of fact-checking is often viewed as a response to the explosion of "fake news" that proliferated online, particularly during major political events such as the 2016 U.S. presidential election.?This being the election that saw straight-faced Trump spokesperson Kellyanne Conway introduce us to the phrase 'alternative facts' when seeking to mislead the public about the size of his inauguration crowd.
The erosion of truth, accelerated an erosion of trust. Which was poor timing with a global health crisis around the corner. Researchers and fact-checkers had to work more closely with social media platforms, motivated by the overwhelming spread of false information, especially during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.?
For example, platforms like Facebook and YouTube have initiated partnerships with third-party fact-checkers to limit the visibility of false or misleading content. However, these partnerships have been met with skepticism and mixed results, as tech companies are often less transparent about how algorithms incorporate fact checks, and falsehoods continue to propagate rapidly, and at scale.
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?In parallel, academic research has grown around this topic. Studies, such as those published by the Nature Magazine and 美国麻省理工学院 - 斯隆管理学院 , have explored the potential of various solutions to combat misinformation on social media. Findings show that labels from professional fact-checkers tend to be more trusted than those from algorithms or other users, emphasizing the importance of human oversight in combating misinformation online.
This trend aligns with the observation that fact-checking has shifted its center of gravity away from exclusively checking politicians to debunking viral hoaxes and misinformation spread via social platforms. The partnership between news outlets and fact-checking organizations with social media giants reflects both the scale of the problem and the evolving nature of how information is consumed in the digital age.
The growing demand for accurate information and the rapid spread of misinformation are driving forces behind the increasing visibility and importance of fact-checking in the modern media landscape. However, there are still concerns about transparency and the effectiveness of these efforts.
Newsworks has done well to elevate the role of news brands in providing trusted and influential sources of news and information. In their "Fact not Fake" campaign last year, their Chief Exec Jo Allan said “Increasingly people are becoming aware of the spread of fake news and misinformation and the pitfalls around social media. Our research has shown news brands deliver incredibly strong business effects for advertisers, either directly or by enhancing other media. And what’s clear is that news brands have a massive role to play for marketers.”
Agains this backdrop, it is vital to note that there are different levels of accountability and governance required from different players. Broadcasters and news brands are designated as publishers and held to a much higher standard. Social media outlets, on the other hand, emphasise their role only as platforms, and have hitherto managed to evade the same level of quality control and accountability for things that users publish there.
For advertisers, building trust is key. Where consumers make purchase decisions rapidly, irrationally and sporadically, trust is a major way to shortcut to the sub-conscious of the buyer. To that end, it is ever more important that advertisers invest in an eco-system that creates trustworthiness, rather than erodes it.
Invest in quality media. Even better, buy it directly.
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