Writes: Alban Zeneli
In the fight against disinformation or fake news, published on various platforms, mainly online, it is extremely necessary to follow a clear methodology for verification and a unification of terms in denouncing these phenomena, so that this process does not end in a lie itself. So far, there are about 3 platforms in Kosovo for denouncing fake news. These platforms currently use different terms, even often opposite to each other, for the same content. This phenomenon comes as a result, first of all, of the lack of a clear definition of a unified methodology to detect and denounce what is known as false content. If we imagine for a moment the fact-checking platform as a fishing net, depending on the motifs of the embroidery and its frequency as a working methodology to detect disinformation content, then it will be clear that the fishing "nets" of the platforms in Kosovo contain different embroidery, which highlight different "fish" or disinformation.
The risk of not defining a clear evaluation methodology for information that is dubious or untrue exposes all the noble work of verifying facts circulating in the public sphere to discredit, which has often happened. Therefore, regarding how to detect fake news, I suggest the following methodology as one of the ways that would help in this area. Each fact-checker should go through these steps to verify the content they handle, thus casting the “net” that, in my opinion, best sifts the media content in the case of Kosovo.
1. DOUBTSIn all media content, especially sensational news. Fake news aims to gain economic benefit through clicks, discredit or promote public-political personalities, social movements, companies, and incite intolerance between social groups through sensationalism.
2. LOOK AT IT Does that news have facts? Fake news usually has a lot of opinions and almost no facts or distorted facts.
3. RATE IT whether the news item refers to a specific source. News items that do not have direct quotes from sources (statements, documents, etc.) are more likely to be false.
4. VERIFY IT whether the portal or social media page has an address and names of the owners and editors and journalists. In the case of pages, look at the time they were created; usually fake news pages are created on the spot, so they have no history.
5. CONSIDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES! Fake news often uses previous facts and places them in new circumstances. The context (circumstances) of an event is often much more important than the statement or fact presented in the news.
6. COMPARE If you can find the content of the news even on the most serious portals, if you can't find it, DOUBT IT! In the media ecology in Kosovo, however, there is a relatively large number of media outlets that have professional filters in handling news that has not yet been published, despite time pressure.
7. CONSIDER fake news even if the headline does not fit the text, the photo does not illustrate the event, or the graphic does not provide information related to the content. Often, for various reasons, especially online media, use non-informative headlines, which aim to arouse curiosity to click on that news, the same can be said for the use of photos, graphics, and other warnings.
8. VERIFY if the portal is registered with the Kosovo Business Registration Agency. If not, DOUBT IT! Online media in Kosovo are not required to register with any particular institution. Therefore, those that are registered with the ARBK have at least an owner name and an address in case of any complaints about the content.
ARKB link: https://arbk.rks-gov.net / (enter the name of the portal, select "web portals" and all registered portals will be displayed)
9. CHECK IT OUT if the portal is a member of the Kosovo Press Council. If not, DOUBT. The Kosovo Press Council is a self-regulatory institution founded by representatives of newspapers, however, a few years ago it opened the possibility of membership for portals as well. Online media that are registered with this self-regulatory body means that they have agreed to respect a code of ethics that aims to report the truth.
KSC Link: http://presscouncil-ks.org/members/members/
Based on the above steps, create a critical judgment about the content read, watched or heard. This is the most difficult step to become a fact checker, compared to all of the above. It requires prior preparation in how news is written, that is, knowledge of a journalist who knows the standards of media reporting. It requires knowledge of the circumstances and developments in society, the function of public and private institutions, as well as high critical thinking skills.
This is the first part of the job of every fact-checker and whistleblower. The second part of the job is equally important in this process. Reporting on the platform should have unified names or terminology so that the public is not confused by the content they read on different fact-checking platforms.
Regarding this part, namely denouncing false content, the seven-type classification made by the coalition of organizations, academics, media, and technology experts known as FirstDraft should be used (link: https://firstdraftnews.org/about/). According to this breakdown written by author Claire Wardle (FirstDraft), the names for the different types of false content are: satire and parody, misleading/framing content, deceptive content, fabricated content, faked link content, false circumstances, manipulated content.
(Alban Zeneli is a lecturer at the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Philology at the University of Pristina. He is also the author of many scientific publications in prestigious international journals. Zeneli is a regular columnist at hibrid.info).