The news agency Agence France-Presse just launched a disinformation tip line on WhatsApp for Spanish false information verification in the United States ahead of the fall midterm elections.
WhatsApp users can now contact a team of AFP fact-checkers through the app to verify memes, videos, photos and links that they encounter online. Grégoire Lemarchand, AFP’s deputy editor-in-chief, said the tip line helps establish a personal connection between the organization and people who are interested in facts.
“It seemed particularly relevant to launch in the U.S. in Spanish in the run-up to the midterms, in agreement with the Meta team, as we know that the Latino community is likely to be targeted by disinformation campaigns,” Lemarchand said.
Fact-checkers saw disinformation thrive during the 2020 elections and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
“We feel the tip line offers a way to connect with Americans who are alarmed at what may be circulating on their phones in the run-up to voting day on Nov. 8,” said Arthur MacMillan, head of AFP digital investigation in the United States. “Our journalists will endeavor to answer all questions about misinformation that readers flag to us, but we are particularly focused on elections.”
AFP doesn’t promise a definitive answer to every single question, but it does guarantee a response, conclusive or not.
“Just send us a question, along with a link, a photo, a meme or a video and our teams will try to answer as soon as possible. The only thing we guarantee is an answer,” Lemarchand said. “It could be precise, with elements of verification sometimes referring to one or several fact checks that we have published, but also inconclusive — either because we can’t collect enough evidence to answer or because the content cannot be fact-checked.”
Fact-checkers at AFP already have experience with similar tip lines in India, France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico. Like with its tip lines in other countries, AFP uses the Meedan check tool for the U.S.-based one, which it runs out of its Washington bureau.
Lemarchand said that although there are difficulties with working on WhatsApp on such a large scale because it’s a private communication app with strong encryption, “we can’t afford to sit back and do nothing.”
“We can never know how a fact check we send is received and interpreted, but the enthusiastic thanks we very often receive in return are encouraging.”
AFP has a network of 130 journalists in the U.S., Latin America and globally who specialize in digital verification.
|
