Fact or fake? Navigating the age of misinformation & fake news (The Backstory S1E5)

The Backstory: A media freedom podcast

Journalists and news organisations today are seeing a shift in the use of social media, from engagement to propaganda and the spreading of misinformation, or so-called fake news. Facebook and other tech platforms are increasingly under pressure to change how they present information and sort truth from lies. But journalists themselves are also coming up with solutions. This episode looks at their fight to control the narrative of a given story. It’s a fight against propagandists, whether governments or online activists. Andrew Heslop and Mariona Sanz, of WAN-IFRA’s Press Freedom team speak with: - Maria Ressa, co-founder, CEO and executive editor of Rappler (https://www.rappler.com), an online news site in the Philippines. - Lia Valero, founder of the fact-checking project El Poder de Elegir (https://chicaspoderosas.org/el-poder-de-elegir-project) in Colombia - Fergus Bell, a digital journalist and consultant (http://digdeepermedia.com), who is an expert in verifying user-generated content. The Backstory production team also includes Colette Davidson and Sarah Elzas, who edited and mixed the episode. Music in this episode by Chris Zabriskie (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/Vendaface/04_-_The_Life_and_Death_of_a_Certain_K_Zabriskie_Patriarch)