Every week, we provide interesting links from around the web that discuss issues regarding the verification processes of content from social media. Here is our list for this week.

 

Website against fake information about events in Ukraine
Stopfake.org is a website launched by Ukrainian academics, journalists and volunteers due to the frustration of misinformation being spread during current events. The objective of the website is clear: Struggle against fake information. A “Report A Fake” button allows users to expose fakes and the website also provides information about how to identify a fake.

Source: Niemanlab and Stopfake

 

The year we broke the internet
A little bit older (December 2013) but a great read: The Year We Broke The Internet. The article basically highlights the double-edged sword of hoaxes and fakes. “If you throw something up without fact-checking it, and you’re the first one to put it up, and you get millions and millions of views, and later it’s proved false, you still got those views. That’s a problem. The incentives are all wrong.” Ryan Grim, Washington bureau chief for the Huffington Post told the New York Times.

Source: Esquire, New York Times

 

Who stole my pictures?

This firefox extension allows you to reverse-search your pictures with a right-click. The cool part: It does not only use one service. Instead, it “makes use of Yandex, Tineye, Google, Baidu and Cydral to search for your image. With a simple click you can open all five search engines at once to see if anyone has snagged you pictures without credit”.

Source: Lifehacker

 

More tips for verifying content
Yes, building a trust network, triangulation and a handful of verification tools are all part of journalists’ daily routine when it comes to verifying content. Applying basic principles of information assessment is key to ensuring credibility. This article is another list of things we need to remember/take into consideration.

Source: Journalism.Co.UK