Notre Dame hoaxes, emotions & journalism, U.S. decline in press freedom

Our personal weekly selection about journalism and innovation.

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Edited by Marco Nurra


Watch all #ijf19 sessions on-demand: media.journalismfestival.com


A cognitive scientist explains why humans are so susceptible to fake news and misinformation. “Bias is how our feelings and worldview affect the encoding and retrieval of memory. We might like to think of our memory as an archivist that carefully preserves events, but sometimes it’s more like a storyteller.”

Facebook bans far-right groups for being ‘dangerous’. The social network has permanently banned a number of far-right organisations and individuals including the British National party (BNP), the English Defence League (EDL) and Britain First. The move is the latest in a series of crackdowns by Facebook, beginning in February when it banned the rightwing activist Tommy Robinson under the same rules, and continuing in March when it reversed a longstanding policy that had allowed “white nationalists” and “white separatists” to post on the site, provided they steered clear of promoting “white supremacy”.

The to-block-or-not-to-block debate. Is it okay for a journalist to block a critic — not a troll, just a critic — on Twitter? Short answer: no.

Should journalists be more emotionally literate? Emotions make a positive contribution to news reporting. Here’s why quality journalism needs to seek new paths beyond the purely cognitive-focused information dissemination.

The case against Julian Assange is a clear threat to journalism. The risk is not that Assange is ultimately found guilty of offering to crack a password for Chelsea Manning, it’s that the case establishes ground rules related to the behavior of investigative journalists that could be used to go after reporters who receive or publish classified documents. That is a very real threat to journalism, one we should take seriously.

How surveillance concerns affect national security journalists. This article sheds light on how journalists prevent and manage potential security risks, outlining shifts in their routines that could be helpful for other journalists and drawing attention to the growing unease around the potential for government oversight.

U.S. declines again in press freedom index, falls to ‘problematic’ status. For the third time in three years, the United States’ standing in an annual index of press freedom declined, a result the report’s authors attributed to President Trump’s anti-press rhetoric and continuing threats to journalists.

Reporting on shootings in Parkland, Pittsburgh, and Annapolis received Pulitzer Prize honors this year. Reporters and outlets that covered mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, were honored at Monday’s ceremony in New York City with one of the most prestigious awards for journalistic and artistic achievement.

Conspiracy theories have been around forever. In a new book, Anna Merlan explains why they’re getting more powerful

Checking in with the Macedonian fake news strategist. Facebook and Google have made it impossible to run and monetize fake news operations from pages in Macedonia or from the Balkans and beyond. This has definitely stunted Mirko Ceselkoski’s operation. “What’s the point of having a Facebook page if you can’t make money out of it?” he says.

5 lessons from fact-checking the Notre Dame fire. These kinds of hoaxes spread after almost every big breaking news story. So what were the lessons learned this time?

Here are 10 tips and tricks from Bellingcat’s Henk van Ess for verifying posts on Instagram. Because faking your life on Instagram is easy, verification can be hard.

The International Journalism Festival #ijf19 On-Demand

Every week, one recommendation from the extensive programme of the last edition of the International Journalism Festival.

Today we are inviting you to watch “Fighting back: #ijf19talk by Matthew Caruana Galizia“. This is the story of what Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family has done since her assassination. 18 months ago, Matthew Caruana Galizia heard an explosion and found out that his mother had been murdered. In his talk, he highlighted 15 diverse points about his experience with fighting for justice. He hopes that they can be useful not only to families of murdered journalists but also to “journalists who find themselves in a position where they’re constantly being attacked and where they’re currently on the defensive. Where they’re facing libel suits, online harassment, physical harassment.” He learned these lessons in the past few months when he and his brothers were fighting back against the powerful of Malta. He credited inspiration for these points also to other figures, including Timothy Snyder, a historian writing about fighting tyranny, or IJF speaker Maria Ressa.

Fighting back: #ijf19talk by Matthew Caruana Galizia

#ijf19talk by Matthew Caruana Galizia. Moderated by Mario Calabresi. This is the story of what Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family has done since her assassination. The discussion will help journalists and all who support them think systematically and strategically about fighting back against threats and violence.

Pubblicato da International Journalism Festival su Sabato 6 aprile 2019