Reuters launches new fact-checking initiative

Reuters has launched a new fact-checking initiative aimed at identifying misinformation on social media, in partnership with Facebook’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program.

The new unit will verify content posted on Facebook and Instagram. It will also be identifying false or misleading media.

The new venture is an extension of Reuters’ efforts to provide accurate and trustworthy news content. Now, the multimedia news provider giant will assess the authenticity of user-generated photos, videos, headlines and other content on social media.

It will also verify for Facebook’s U.S. audience in both English and Spanish and publishing findings on a specially created blog.

“We are steadfastly recognizing the magnitude of misinformation taking place around the world. It’s a growing issue that impacts society daily and it’s a responsibility for news organizations and platforms to halt the spread of false news,” said Jess April, director of global partnerships, Reuters. “Reuters has a superior track record in sourcing, verifying and clearing user-generated content for distribution to thousands of clients globally and we are best placed in using our in-house expertise to fact check social media content.”

Keren Goldshlager, Facebook Integrity Partnerships, said, “Expanding our fact-checking program is an important part of our work to fight misinformation. We are thrilled that Reuters is joining our U.S. partnership, and know we’ll benefit deeply from their expertise in visual verification and user-generated content.”

Reuters has played an increasing role in validating the news that it provides. Recently, the organization also partnered with Facebook Journalism Project to develop an e-learning course to help newsrooms globally identify and reject manipulated content and videos.