Launching a consortium of fact-checkers in India & debating parachute journalism in Myanmar
It's been an exciting week for us at Meedan. Our fact-checking partners in India launched Ekta, a consortium of six fact-checking groups to share verified information, insights and trends related to the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections in India. This program integrates Check, Meedan's fact-checking tool, with the WhatsApp Business API to receive and respond to messages at scale.
The issue of 'parachute journalism' has bothered us as we're committed to strengthening local and independent journalism. Catch the update from Myanmar on the pitfalls of parachute journalism. We also have updates from Brazil on Facebook's policies to curb misinformation from the top leader in the country. Finally, we take a look at how some countries in the Arab world are restricting access to an app that is becoming popular to discuss subjects that are considered taboo.
Happy reading, subscribers!
The latest top stories
Facebook has an apparent double standard over COVID-19 misinformation in Brazil, researchers say (Poynter)
Researchers want Facebook’s Oversight Board to evaluate the platform’s exemption of politicians from fact-checking after new research from Brazilian fact-checking organization Agência Lupa pointed to 29 examples of President Jair Bolsonaro spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
The research, first reported on by Brazillian news outlet Folha de Sao Paulo, looked at Facebook videos and live sessions where Bolsonaro appeared to question the merits of social distancing, promote debunked falsehoods about mask-wearing and advocate for the usage of the controversial malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19.
"What they’ve done is they’ve shown based on the evidence in the report that, depending on the country that you’re in, the policies are applied in very different ways...The point of applying policies, particularly around misinformation that’s a threat to public health, is to protect the public...What that’s saying is that the public in Brazil, or next time it might be in India or it might be in Tanzania or it might be elsewhere, isn’t as worthy of protection as the public of France or the U.K. or the U.S." — Peter Cunliffe-Jones, a senior adviser to the International Fact-Checking Network
Arabs talk sex and taboos on Clubhouse app, but for how long? (Reuters)
Audio chatroom app Clubhouse is on the rise in the Arab world, providing a rare platform for open debate on taboo subjects from so-called honour killings in Egypt to sexual identity in Iraq, but with some authorities restricting use and others wary. But as Arab fans embrace Clubhouse as a means to broach matters seldom discussed in public, some fear a broad clampdown by authoritarian governments in the region after Jordan and Oman blocked access to the San Francisco-based app last month.
"The newness creates moments where people feel free to say things they wouldn’t ordinarily do for fear of retaliation from the state...People let their guard down and perhaps forget that the political context in which they live hasn’t changed.. a few cases of state intervention could have a “chilling” effect on speech." — Marc Owen Jones, assistant professor of digital humanities and societies at Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Facebook's third party fact checkers form new fact-checking consortium for 2021 Assembly polls (Economic Times)
Six fact-checking groups of Facebook's third party fact checking programme, such as BOOM Live, AFP Fact Check, Factly and India Today Fact Check, have come together in India to launch ‘Ekta’, a consortium of Indian fact-checking groups addressing misinformation related to the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections in India.
The other fact-checkers include Vishvas News and WebQoof. Ekta said Meedan, a global technology non-profit has provided access to its fact-checking platform called Check and the Check platform is integrated with the WhatsApp Business API and will help to receive and respond to messages at scale.
At https://ekta-facts.com, all participating groups will share highlights of their fact-checking in the form of articles, data reports, research insights, blog posts and podcasts. Ekta said till May 3, it will focus on misinformation related to the legislative assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Beyond the elections, Ekta will focus on misinformation on other issues impacting citizens in India.
How CNN’s Myanmar Trip Started a Debate Over Parachute Journalism (VICE)
More than two months after the coup plunged Myanmar into chaos, CNN managed to secure access to the country. The network sent its star London-based foreign correspondent Clarissa Ward and her team to Yangon, making them the first international crew to fly in since the military takeover on Feb. 1. But as CNN patted itself on the back for landing a prized story, it has also attracted criticism for self-aggrandizement, dubious methods and endangering the very people whose plights it sought to emphasize. Eleven residents in Yangon were reportedly detained by Myanmar security forces soon after they spoke to Ward. At least eight were later released, CNN confirmed.
"CNN had the spotlight but chose to ignore the work of our local Burmese journalists, as well as others on the ground, who have been risking their safety every day to get information out there to the rest of the world." — Theo Htet, a Burmese citizen living in Singapore
Meedan Updates
Fact-Checking the Ghana Elections
The 2020 Ghana election happened in the midst of a pandemic, meaning that journalists had the double task of informing the public on public health issues while simultaneously reporting on presidential and local elections. As with a number of other countries, Ghana has seen an increase in the spread of misinformation online as the number of people relying on the internet as their source of information grows.
This poll had the potential to be a ‘lightning rod’ for false information which could be overlooked, given that it happened a short time after the US election, as well as during a pandemic that dominated global headlines. However, the country has remained relatively stable, and is looked at as a model on how to run and manage electoral processes for other democracies in West Africa. It was therefore important to keep false information locked down, especially given its potential to destabilize and derail crucial information flows.