The BBC has partnered up with the big guns of journalism and technology in order to take on the fake news. The new plans feature an early warning system that is generally used during elections or when lives are at stake.
The unique scheme has received some noteworthy inputs from the major publishers, including Google, Twitter, and Facebook. The BBC has further declared that the said moves were ‘crucial steps’ to combat misinformation that is becoming quite prevalent these days.
The moves are the outcome of a Trusted News Summit that was convened by the BBC, where senior figures from the major technology firms and publishing firms from all over the world had gathered. The agenda was to come up with means of taking down fake news and how to do it in the most effective manner possible. The new plans that have been agreed on as per the BBC, are as follows;
Early Warning System – A system will be created, thus allowing organizations to alert each other quickly and effectively when they come across disinformation that might threaten human life or cause disruption to the democracy during elections. The focus will be on moving swiftly and as a team for undermining the disinformation before it is able to take hold and do any damage.
Media Education – It was also decided that a joint online media education campaign will be run for the sake of supporting and promoting media education messages.
Voter Information – It was decided to have co-operation on civic information around elections, thus creating a common way for explaining how and where to vote.
Share Learning – This will be focused on during high-profile elections, particularly.
BBC Director-General Tony Hall said, ‘Disinformation and so-called fake news is a threat to us all. At its worst, it can present a serious threat to democracy and even to people’s lives. This summit has shown a determination to take collective action to fight this problem, and we have agreed on some crucial steps towards this.’ What do you think of these measures against fake news?