10 Tips for Reporting on Disinformation
Data & Society Research Institute (2020), 4 pp.
"For journalists, disinformation presents a unique challenge; while they are guided by the mission of exposing wrongdoing to hold power to account, they are also one of the most common targets of disinformation campaigns. Without realizing it, journalists can amplify disinformation simply by doing their jobs: reporting on it. To minimize this risk and adhere to their other mission of helping readers make sense of the world around them, journalists should turn to the following tips when reporting on online disinformation." (Page 1)
1. Assess whether a “tipping point” has been reached
2. Reach out to experts (but also become an expert yourself!
3. Practice strategic amplification
4. Don’t speculate or inflate the importance of a single example
5. Avoid headlines that repeat disinformation or frame it as a question
6. Verify
7. Don’t embed or link to problematic content, especially visuals
8. Avoid using the language of manipulators
9. Rethink debunks and fact checks
10. Contextualize
2. Reach out to experts (but also become an expert yourself!
3. Practice strategic amplification
4. Don’t speculate or inflate the importance of a single example
5. Avoid headlines that repeat disinformation or frame it as a question
6. Verify
7. Don’t embed or link to problematic content, especially visuals
8. Avoid using the language of manipulators
9. Rethink debunks and fact checks
10. Contextualize
