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FACT-CHECKERS on the WEB Social Media Warriors Have Arrived Akhilesh Patil*

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FACT-CHECKERS on the WEB Social Media Warriors Have Arrived Akhilesh Patil* FACT-CHECKERS ON THE WEB Social Media Warriors Have Arrived Akhilesh Patil* In an era when distrust of their messages. And as social is also to blame for propagating politicians and democratic media transforms itself into misinformation. Print and institutions is shaping voter a real source of information, television media have been choices, fact-checking seems this toxic mixture of hoaxes, accused ad nauseam about to be the accountability rumours, conspiracy theories compromising the accuracy of mechanism everyone is reaching and misleading news reaches their reportage. It is this gap in out to. According to a survey the farthest corners of the credible information across both by Reporters’ Lab, a centre globe. Despite social media mainstream and non-traditional for journalism research in the platforms drawing most of the media that fact checking outfits Sanford School of Public Policy can plug. They can help citizens flak for lacking editorial filtration at Duke University, the number access facts and help empower mechanisms, traditional media of active fact-checking projects democracy in an intensely around the world now stands at Despite social media polarised political environment. 156. Its steady growth is driven by expanding networks and new platforms drawing Most social media platforms media partnerships that focus most of the flak for have already stepped up their “ game by focusing on a medley on holding public figures and lacking editorial of technologies to curtail the organisations accountable for filtration mechanisms, 1 spread of lies and hoaxes. Media what they say. “ traditional media organisations too are making Worldwide political organisations is also to blame efforts to stay close to ethical have been using ‘fake news’ as for propagating and journalistic standards, and an effective tool to propagate misinformation. coming up with fact checking *Akhilesh is a Trainee Research Executive at Common Cause. COMMON CAUSE | Vol. XXXVII No. 4 October-December, 2018 | 17 units in their existing model of FactChecker SM HoaxSlayer operations. (FactChecker.in) (SMHoaxSlayer.com) India’s Crusade Against India’s first dedicated This was among policy and data fact- the earlier crop of Fake News checking initiative, factchecker. fact-checking initiatives from In India, in 2018 alone, at least in was started by television India. Concerned about the 25 people have been lynched and print journalist Govindraj increasing stream of incorrect or beaten to death over a fake Ethiraj. Founder Editor-in-Chief and malicious information, WhatsApp message.2 Growing of Bloomberg TV India, Ethiraj mainly on WhatsApp, Mumbai- internet penetration, low has vast experience in the field based businessman Pankaj Jain, level of media literacy and of business, policy and new decided to do something about rapidly decreasing credibility media. Factchecker.in is an it. He was so impressed by the of traditional media have initiative of the Spending and Australia-based internet scam debunking website Hoax-Slayer compounded the problem, Policy Research Foundation, a that he tried to replicate the triggering the process of ‘fact- charitable trust which also runs model in the Indian context by checking.’ People who had indiaspend.org, India’s first data starting his own initiative – ‘SM started fact-checking out journalism initiative. The other (social media) HoaxSlayer’ in of genuine concern have main patrons of the trust are August 2015.3 now turned it into a serious Rohini Nilekani, Vikram Lal, profession. For instance, Pirojsha Godrej Foundation While it started out as just a Govindraj Ethiraj’s factchecker. (philanthropic arm of the Godrej Facebook page, it gradually in began as a small team, which group) and the Independent expanded into a standalone debunked lies on mainly policy- and Public-Spirited Media website and currently has related issues. Later in 2016 he Foundation (IPSMF). presence in other media started BOOMLive, a dedicated Since early 2013, FactChecker platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and independent fact-checking has been scrutinising statements Instagram, Pintrest, Tumblr, initiative. Similarly, Shammas made by individuals in public life LinkedIn etc. Jain uses data from government sources and other Oliyath started Check4spam as as well as important policy data, media outlets to bust fake news. a WordPress site in 2015. At researching them for veracity present, Check4spam has its and context. However, it was in Although no clear information is own website and is looking for 2014 that it started its dedicated available regarding its funding, collaborations to improve its fact-checking unit as a separate the website is monetised and functioning. website. This was the first Indian donations from individuals are website to be certified by the sought. Though the number of dedicated International Fact-Checking fact-checking initiatives is still Network (IFCN) - Poynter Check4spam smaller in India than the rest Institute, but the certificate of the world, it is important to (check4spam.com) recently expired on November 9, In 2015, the chaos understand their ownership 2018. patterns, business models and generated owing to a forwarded fake message overall functioning. Here is a It is run by a small team of 12 – bothered Shammas Oliyath, lowdown on some of India’s 15 people which includes policy a Bengaluru based software prominent fact-checking researchers, journalists and data engineer. He eventually started initiatives: analysts. 18 | October-December, 2018 COMMON CAUSE | Vol. XXXVII No. 4 a WordPress blog to list out info-graphics using data from span Alt news has debunked a such spam messages. Later, official sources, that is either bevy of lies chiefly disseminated Balkrishn Birla, an engineering available in the public domain by politicians, popular media graduate from IIT Kanpur and or accessed using tools such as outlets and opinion leaders. a tech entrepreneur joined the the RTI. It also fact-checks data A large proportion of its overall self-funded initiative. Eventually, from social media platforms and fact-checked data exposes lies the duo launched check4spam. media organisations. It received of individuals and organisations com, a dedicated fact-checking the certificate from IFCN on associated with the right wing website in August 2015.4 November 21, 2018. ideology, and the outfit often Check4spam mainly deals with Factly is a for-profit entity faces criticism for the same. spams on social media platforms registered as ‘Factly Media Altnews’ founder has even faced like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Research,’ which runs its death threats for running the Twitter etc. It has a WhatsApp operation mainly with the help website.6 However, the fact- number where people can send of project grants, consulting checking outfit’s work has been content for verification, and or research assignments and widely appreciated by experts, it receives approximately 150 subscriptions. while its founder was invited to requests in a day. The roles of Google News Lab Asia-Pacific the website founders are clearly Alt news Summit 2017 in Singapore to demarcated. Both Oliyath and (www.altnews.in) discuss solutions to the fake news 7 Birla are working professionals Pratik Sinha, an menace. and spend two to three hours engineer and AltNews.in is the initiative of a a day on the site, with Oliyath activist started Altnews.in not-for-profit company called handling the research and Birla in February 2017, with the Pravda Media Foundation. taking care of the technology. objective of myth-busting as well Therefore, it depends entirely on as debunking misreporting in Though Check4spam is currently donations and grants for its work, mainstream media. Sinha is also a self-funded initiative, it has which primarily revolves around a member of Gujarat-based civil opted for Google’s advertising checking the veracity of facts. rights organisation Jan Sangharsh platform to help maintain the Recently, IPSMF has provided Manch, founded by his late website. financial support to the website father, senior advocate Mukul for reporting and publishing In order to avoid duplication and Sinha and mother, trade union stories of public interest. In the increase efficiency, the website is leader Nirjhari Sinha. financial year 2017-18 it has planning to team up with other Credited with debunking also received donations from like-minded units from across the all types of misinformation, Zindabad Trust, managed by 8 country.5 disinformation and mal- writer-activist Arundhati Roy. information from social and Factly Presently, Alt news has expanded mainstream media, Alt news its team and recently launched (Factly.in) has emerged as a watchdog of its Hindi edition. Factly is a public the news space. In addition to information portal fact-checking, it also covers news BOOM founded by Rakesh Dubbudu, ignored by mainstream media (www.boomlive.in) public information and data such as caste-based atrocities, Boom is an enthusiast. It puts out mainly discrimination, labour struggles independent digital public interest stories and and much more. In a very short journalism initiative by Govindraj COMMON CAUSE | Vol. XXXVII No. 4 October-December, 2018 | 19 Ethiraj, also the founder of centre-right ideology. It was of articles criticising BBC’s factchecker.in. However, unlike launched in December 2014 research on fake news in India Fact-checker.in, BOOM is a part by Kumar Kunal Kamal, an and questioning the credibility of of Ping Digital Network, a private academician and his friends. its findings.11 limited company. It forms the OpIndia’s team also includes news division of the network Gaurav as well as Rahul Raj Very recently, Fact Crescendo, an and has been in existence since who runs the popular Facebook independent digital journalism 2014. BOOM Live started its page ‘Bhak Sala.’ Today the initiative founded by Vinod Rathi operation as a full-fledged fact- portal is owned by Kovai Media has also started its operations checking initiative in November which also operates the right- in ‘fact-checking’ business. It 2016, and is one of the first leaning Swarajya magazine.
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