Published with the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the 'News Verification Guide' by US expert in the field Tom Trewinnard is available for download in English, Latvian, Russian and Estonian at SSE's website HERE.
"The rise of camera-enabled smartphones and high-speed mobile data services has led to a proliferation of photo and video content being shared via social networks. It is now often the case that for an international, breaking news story, the first reports, videos and photo to emerge will come via social media," the explanatory text says.
"This is both a great opportunity and challenge for journalists: we have access to first-hand footage from around the world of breaking news events, and so are able to cover stories that we otherwise couldn’t report on. At the same time, social networks are contested spaces that are often awash with fake and mis-contextualized content designed to mislead and confuse."
This guide is designed as a series of checklists to help you find answers to key questions about content you’re investigating online, and while it is journalists who are likely to find the most immediate use for the advice inside, ordinary consumers of the modern news media should also get something from it.
Tom Trewinnard is the Program Manager at Meedan, a social technology non-profit organization.
