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New Global Council aims to build trust in media and fight misinformation

The scramble to address misinformation and rebuild trust in journalism has created numerous initiatives to understand and fix the problem. But most well-funded projects are driven by, and focused on the US and EU markets. The Global Council to Build Trust in Media and Fight Misinformation will create a repository of available resources for newsrooms and map initiatives worldwide.

by Cherilyn Ireton cherilyn.ireton@wan-ifra.org | April 12, 2018

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and The World Editors Forum are founding members of the new Global Council to Build Trust in Media and Fight Misinformation, to be announced today at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia.

We join the Ethical Journalism Network, European Broadcasting Union, Global Editors Network (GEN), Global Forum for Media Development and the Online News Association in a body that aims to join the dots between initiatives worldwide designed to rebuild trust in journalism and media, and fight misinformation.

That these organisations, which represent hundreds of broadcasters and publishers across the globe, are uniting around these issues signals their importance. The Council aims to facilitate realistic, practical and workable solutions.

It will be non-political and will come together around information sharing, innovation, collaboration and coordination of initiatives and ownership of journalism’s own narrative in the wider ecosystem.

WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyrègne, welcomed the initiative. “Misinformation is a menace worldwide – but most newsrooms simply don’t have the resources or access to US and European funded initiatives. Sharing who is doing what and emerging best practice is vital for trust in journalism, and ultimately the health of open societies. The council’s aim to connect, collect and share is important for the industry.”

 

The first action of the Council is to work together on a repository of resources and map initiatives from across the industry to better inform the global journalism community of ongoing efforts regardless of size funding or location. This repository will be added to through the strong networks and memberships of the founding Council members as well as public submissions,” he said.

 

The next stage of the Council’s activities will be to connect individuals, organisations and initiatives from across their respective networks with anyone who could add to or benefit from them. Also, awareness of complementary work or initiatives will allow funding to go further and avoid unnecessary duplication from within the community.

 

For more information please visit http://globalmis.info where you can learn more about the mission of the Council, view the proof of concept repository, submit additions and sign-up for updates from WAN-IFRA or any other partner organisations.

 

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