The Poynter Institute, the International Fact-Checking Network and MediaWise, with assist from Google News Initiative, will launch a complete program to strengthen fact-checking and media literacy throughout Canada. Divided into three applications, two of the three initiatives will work immediately to advertise fact-checking inside Canada whereas the third will attain the general public by a continuation of the Teen Reality-Checking Community. These efforts goal to assist and develop fact-checking organizations all through the nation with the objective of calming widespread concern over misinformation, which was recognized in a survey carried out by Survey Series on People and their Communities.
“We’re excited to empower the coaching and improvement of extra fact-checkers in Canada, drawing on our expertise in advocating for fact-checking world wide,” stated IFCN director Angie Drobnic Holan. “We consider fact-checking is a crucial a part of enhancing data integrity and public dialogue in all places.”
Utilizing Poynter’s trusted assets, this system will begin with a foundational self-directed course on fact-checking. Following this, eight virtual workshops will present sensible coaching in key areas like verification instruments, media literacy, collaboration, viewers engagement and monetary sustainability. The primary webinar kicks off on Nov. 27, with registration open now.
Along with workshops, the IFCN will mentor three to 5 Canadian fact-checking initiatives by a six-month improvement observe, aiding them in creating sustainable, long-term methods for his or her operations. These chosen organizations shall be eligible to obtain funding to assist organizational progress and capacity-building targets. To be thought-about for the mentorship, organizations should full the self-directed course, attend each workshop and submit an utility. They need to even be Canadian-based and fact-check mis- and disinformation within the Canadian ecosystem.
“Google is dedicated to supporting a thriving and various information ecosystem, and offering folks with instruments to navigate at present’s complicated data setting,” stated Suzanne Perron, Information Partnerships Supervisor at Google Canada. “We’re proud to collaborate with the Poynter Institute’s Worldwide Reality-Checking Community and MediaWise to empower fact-checkers throughout Canada and to equip the subsequent era of stories customers with important media literacy abilities.”
Surpassing two million video views within the first yr, the Canadian Teen Reality-Checking Community will renew for one more yr. Constructed upon MediaWise’s Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN), the Canadian newsroom will proceed by an expanded partnership with MediaSmarts, Canada’s Centre for Digital Media Literacy. Constructed upon a peer-to-peer studying mannequin, the TFCN provides teenagers the chance to fact-check claims they arrive throughout and educate their friends how they fact-checked it with abilities their friends can be taught. Matters can vary from severe to humorous to ridiculous, however on the core these are claims discovered by teenagers for teenagers. Some claims the primary cohort reported on included whether or not maple syrup reserves had been working low, is it unlawful to color your storage door purple and does caffeine trigger girls to lose hair.
“We’re thrilled to proceed the Teen Reality-Checking Community in Canada, in partnership with MediaSmarts,” says Brittani Kollar, deputy director of MediaWise. “We discover ourselves at a time the place the necessity for media literacy and the power to establish factual data on-line is essential. By means of these peer-to-peer studying movies, teenagers will be taught abilities that can empower them to eat data responsibly.”
Recognizing the significance of early schooling in media literacy, the TFCN engages younger folks to critically consider on-line data and develop into knowledgeable digital residents. This system publishes movies in English and French. TFCN functions will open late November. Please test MediaSmarts’ TFCN webpage for extra particulars.
The launch of this initiative will assist Canadians navigate misinformation with stronger fact-checking and media literacy abilities, constructing a extra knowledgeable and resilient public.
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a worldwide nonprofit working to deal with society’s most urgent points by instructing journalists and journalism, overlaying the media and the complexities going through the trade, convening and group constructing, enhancing the capability and sustainability of stories organizations and fostering belief and reliability of knowledge. The Institute is a gold normal in journalistic excellence and devoted to the preservation and development of press freedom in democracies worldwide. By means of Poynter, journalists, newsrooms, companies, large tech companies and residents convene to seek out options that promote belief and transparency in information and stoke significant public discourse. The world’s prime journalists and rising media leaders depend on the Institute to be taught new abilities, undertake finest practices, higher serve audiences, scale operations and enhance the standard of the universally shared data ecosystem.
The Craig Newmark Heart for Ethics and Management, the Worldwide Reality-Checking Community (IFCN), MediaWise and PolitiFact are all members of the Poynter group.
Help for Poynter and our entities upholds the integrity of the free press and the U.S. First Modification and builds public confidence in journalism and media — a necessary for wholesome democracies. Study extra at poynter.org.
About MediaWise
MediaWise is a social-first digital media literacy initiative of the nonprofit Poynter Institute. This system teaches folks of all ages and backgrounds learn how to responsibly interact with on-line content material within the age of knowledge overload. MediaWise was created in 2018 to empower residents to seek out trusted sources and make sense of the huge quantity of knowledge at their fingertips. MediaWise brings easy, but efficient, digital media literacy instruments to folks the place they’re — whether or not they’re on Fb, Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok, or in one of many 10 nations the place MediaWise operates — and stroll them by each step to find out what’s actual and what’s not on the web. By means of MediaWise, everybody can do their half to scale back the unfold of misinformation and elevate the information.
Observe MediaWise on social media to discover ways to debunk viral claims and be extra crucial customers of on-line data. Discover applications and be a part of the answer at poynter.org/mediawise.
About Google Information Initiative
In collaboration with editors and journalists worldwide, the Google Information Initiative (GNI) strives to foster a extra sustainable, various, and modern information panorama. By means of a complete suite of applications, digital instruments, coaching, and assets, the GNI empowers journalistic endeavors, enabling journalists to successfully uncover, confirm, and narrate compelling tales whereas upholding the very best requirements of high quality journalism.
