Unesco summit: Journalism under fire
The EJN will took part in a panel discussion of the Colloquium “Journalism under fire: challenges of our times” which took place at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris on 23 March 2017, in the presence of Ms Irina Bokova, UNESCO’s Director-General and Ms Christiane Amanpour, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression and Journalists’ Safety, and Chief International Correspondent, CNN.
High-level journalists, academics, and representatives of UNESCO’s Member States analysed recent developments that challenged the role of journalism in the new media landscape, such as the rise of identity politics and the crisis of representative democracy, new media business models and technologies, as well as the crisis of audience identity, and “fake news”.
All information related to the Conference is available at http://en.unesco.org/journalism-under-fire. If you wish to attend the Colloquium, you can register online before 16 March 2017.
The EJN’s recent Ethics in the News included tips for journalists about spotting fake news:
- Use fact-checking websites. Most reputable media already double-check everything that arrives in their inboxes but now freelance journalists and small-scale media can get help from a rapidly-expanding community of online fact-checkers. Sites such as factcheck.org in the United States or the UK’s fullfact.org, for instance.
- Watch out for websites with odd names. Strange domain names or sites that end in “.com.co” for instance are often fake versions of real news sources.
- Check the “About Us” box on the website. Worry if there isn’t one and check the provider with Wikipedia.
- Beware of stories not being reported elsewhere. A shocking, outrageous or surprising event will have another source. If it doesn’t, be suspicious.
- Be wary if there is no attribution for an author or source. That’s sometimes justified, but should be explained and, if not, don’t trust it.
- Check the date. One favourite trick of news fakers is to repackage old stories. They may have been accurate but used out of time and out of context they may become malicious falsehoods.
- Finally, remember that there’s such a thing as satire. Not all fakery is malicious. It can even be entertaining and may come from reputable sources of journalism.