Civic Tech Field Guide
Sharing knowledge and productively growing the fieldThe Tech > Media > Fight disinformation - (396)
Disinformation campaigns by states, economic opportunists, and the misinformed themselves threaten to erode the common understandings, shared identities, and empirical bedrock that underlies our collective decisionmaking. While disinformation campaigns have used mass media to spread for many years, social media platforms have proven an exceptionally hospitable environment for the proliferation of falsehoods. Those looking to limit disinformation’s effect on society and bolster truth in media have likewise turned to technology to help keep up with the volume and precision of constantly evolving disinformation campaigns.
Suggested reading:
- Matt Stempeck's research into how the Code for All network has advanced its strategies for fighting disinformation in different contexts around the world (2022)
- Digital Disinformation and Vote Suppression, The Brennan Center for Justice (2020)
- Virus Experts Aren’t Getting the Message Out Renée DiResta in The Atlantic (2020)
- Safeguarding Democracy Against Disinformation Report by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (2020)
- Browser Plug-ins That Spot Fake News Show The Difficulty Of Tackling The ‘Information Apocalypse’ Can software that spots Photoshopped images help stem the tide of misinformation? The Verge (2018)
- Can an AI Fact-Checker Solve India’s Fake News Problem? An Indian startup is using an AI tool to curb misinformation. But India poses unique challenges for the technology. Undark (2019)
- Factchecking, a Quartz Daily Obsession media collage (2019)
- Fake news and fact-checking: 7 studies you should know about, a roundup from Journalist’s Resource (2020)
- The children’s storyteller helping Taiwan sort fact from fiction, a helpful deep dive into disinfo-fighting tech (and misappropriation through national ‘fake news laws’) in Asia. Al Jazeera (2020).
- CivicSpace.tech guide to Disinformation, including its relevance to civic space, opportunities, risks, and case studies (2020)
Showing 396 Results
Detektor Media
UkraineMedia Detector is a non-governmental organization established by Ukrainian journalists in January 2004.
Our mission is to ensure that information technology and social media play a proactive role in supporting democracy and human rights globally.
Debunk.eu
LithuaniaDEBUNK (demaskuok in Lithuanian) is a unique Lithuania-born initiative uniting competing media outlets, journalists, volunteers for a single purpose – to make society more resilient to orchestrated disinformation campaigns.
The DeepTrust Alliance is a global coalition of stakeholders advancing the fight against digital disinformation and deepfakes.
Data Analytics for Social Media Monitoring
Washington, DCThis new guide is designed to help democracy practitioners better understand social media trends, content, data, and networks.
Cyber News Verification Lab
Hong KongThis project is an experiment in experiential learning through a cyber verification lab at the University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre.
In 12 episodes, Jay Smooth teaches you Media Literacy! Based on an introductory college level curriculum, this series takes you through the history and psychology of media and gives you the skills to become more media savvy.
The purpose of this handbook is to increase public communicators' awareness and understanding of information influence campaigns and develop their ability to respond.
Countering Misinformation about Armenia
Armenia (Hayastán)Monitoring of the selected talk shows, newspapers, electronic periodicals of both Russian and Armenian mass media to examine the media coverage, the possible labelling and targeted information conveyed to wide audiences in the result of the activity of Russian and Armenian news and information periodicals, TV talk shows and websites.
The Credibility Coalition brings people together to develop common standards for information credibility.
To combat what the World Health Organization has called an "infodemic" around Covid-19, BBC News Africa has launched a searchable library of fact-checks debunking popular myths and misinformation about coronavirus in Africa.
NCRI has built its own proprietary platform that has played a critical role in the identification and forecasting of emerging threats that threaten the Economic, physical and social health of civil society.
The Content Blockchain Project was initiated in 2016 by a consortium of publishing, law and IT companies to research the possibilities of using blockchain technologies to advance the content and media ecosystem.
Mnemonic is an NGO dedicated to archiving, investigating and memorializing digital information documenting human rights violations and international crimes.
The Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) at the University of Washington's Information School explores the role of digital technologies in building more open, inclusive, and equitable societies.
Memo 98 is a specialist media monitoring organization, with extensive experience of delivery media analyses on behalf of international institutions as well as technical assistance to civil society groups.
MOE Election Observation
ColombiaThe Election Observation Mission (La Misión de Observación Electoral, MOE) is an election observer group based in Colombia.
USAID Media Program in Ukraine
UkraineThe USAID-funded Media Program in Ukraine will empower local media to expand Ukrainian citizens’ access to high-quality news and information.
SSRC Media Well
Brooklyn, NYDisinformation, misinformation, and “fake news” are longstanding phenomena that, in the wake of the digital revolution, have become newly politicized and consequential. SSRC's research on the topic.
The mission of MediaWise is to empower people of all ages to be more critical consumers of content online.
Monitor do WhatsApp
Minas GeraisThis system shows the most shared image, video, audio, messaging, and URLs content across over 300 WhatsApp public groups daily.
Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC), founded in 2015, is an independent online media outlet.
The Citizen Helpdesks are a pioneering citizen feedback, dialogue and community voice platform to ensure accountability in the development process.
Checkology’s lessons and other resources show you how to navigate today’s challenging information landscape.
Chequea Bolivia
Bolivia (Buliwya / Wuliwya / Volívia)A fundamental pillar of the democratic system is that there is freedom of expression and dissemination, and that citizens are duly informed to make correct decisions in their daily lives.
Masyarakat Anti Fitnah Indonesia
Indonesiacekfakta.com adalah sebuah sebuah proyek kolaboratif pengecekan fakta yang dibangun di atas API Yudistira oleh MAFINDO ( Masyarakat Anti Fitnah Indonesia ) dan bekerja sama dengan beberapa media online yang tergabung di AJI ( Aliansi Jurnalis Independen ) dan AMSI ( Asosiasi Media Siber Indonesia ) serta didukung oleh Google News Initiative dan Internews serta FirstDraft. cekfakta.com pertama kali diluncurkan di acara ‘Trusted Media Summit 2018’ yang diadakan di Jakarta pada Sabtu, 5 Mei 2018 setelah penandatangan MOU oleh 22 Pemred dan Ketua Mafindo.
CaptainFact is a collaborative fact-checking tool for YouTube videos.
"Blackbird.AI views the spread of disinformation as one of the world’s largest threats to national security, business, and the public as a whole." - Counteringdisinformation.org
Bolivia Verifica
Bolivia (Buliwya / Wuliwya / Volívia)Bolivia Verifica is a non-profit, non-political digital media that is dedicated to the verification of false news and public discourse to fight against disinformation and improve democratic participation.
Supports original research into disinformation vulnerability and resilience with public opinion research, analytical pieces, narrative monitoring, and mainstream and social media monitoring, both in house and in collaboration with local partners in Europe.
In 2018 we launched Bot Sentinel to help fight disinformation and targeted harassment. We believe Twitter users should be able to engage in healthy online discourse without inauthentic accounts, toxic trolls, foreign countries, and organized groups manipulating the conversation.
This project uses advanced machine learning techniques to detect propaganda accounts on Twitter.
Botometer (formerly BotOrNot) checks the activity of a Twitter account and gives it a score based on how likely the account is to be a bot.
BotSlayer is an application that helps track and detect potential manipulation of information spreading on Twitter.
BOOM
MumbaiBOOM is an independent digital journalism initiative. We are India’s premier fact checking website, committed to bring to our readers verified facts rather than opinion. When there is a claim, we will fact check it.
Google's digital media literacy training for kids
Daily, journalists from Aos Fatos follow statements by politicians and authorities of national expression, from different party colors, in order to verify if they are speaking the truth. For this, we adopted a formula with seven steps to carry out our checks.
Annir Initiative
LibyaAnnir is a non-partisan digital initiative specialized in raising awareness about Media & Information Literacy and Digital Safety.
Al Sur
South America"Al Sur" is a consortium of organizations that work in civil society and academia in Latin America and that seek with their joint work to strengthen human rights in the digital environment of the region.
Alternative News Networks
Oxford, UKThis project seeks to understand the health of the UK online information ecosystem, including tracking the spread of divisive and misleading content.
A report analyzing the online environment and potential risks for the 2021 German Federal Elections.
The ANCIR iLab uses forensic data science techniques to expose the networks that disseminate and amplify misinformation, disinformation, and toxic content (such as hate speech or extremism) with a special focus on coordinated inauthentic behaviour and other influence/information operations.
The Magnifier is the first news agency in Brazil to specialize in journalistic technique known worldwide as fact-checking and was founded on November 1, 2015.
Aggie is an open-source social and online media aggregation tool designed specifically for monitoring events in real time.
AFRICMIL
Abuja, NigeriaAFRICMIL is non-government organisation that focuses on media, information, research, advocacy and training. It aims to promote media and information literacy as a key component in the enhancement of democracy and good governance and the promotion of accountability and orderly society.
Poynter's global guide on existing attempts to legislate against what can broadly be referred to as online misinformation. This guide seeks to create an inclusive, collaborative approach to addressing misinformation around the world. While not every law contained here relates to misinformation specifically, they’ve all often been wrapped into that broader discussion. Article will be updated on an ongoing basis.
The African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA) is a network of media and civil society organizations that work to counter misinformation. The network supports fact-checking missions to debunk dangerous content, including conspiracy theories and misinformation.
AFP Fact Check is a global digital verification service that tackles damaging misinformation on topics such as COVID-19 and elections.
A global map ranking countries by their Freedom of Information laws
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