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Tool: GroundsignalSource: Groundsignal / CO Everywhere, Inc.Description: Groundsignal is a geolocation search tool that surfaces trends from social media. Marketed as a tool for businesses to study audience discussion and behavior online, the tool is also useful for analyzing online discussion around breaking news and finding influential sources or people connected with the events unfolding. Relevant Links:Product site: https://www.groundsignal.com/how-it-worksDavid Higgerson’s “Try it Tuesday”: https://davidhiggerson.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/try-it-tuesday-ground-signal/

Tool: Groundsignal

Source: Groundsignal / CO Everywhere, Inc.

Description: Groundsignal is a geolocation search tool that surfaces trends from social media. Marketed as a tool for businesses to study audience discussion and behavior online, the tool is also useful for analyzing online discussion around breaking news and finding influential sources or people connected with the events unfolding. 


Relevant Links:
Product site: https://www.groundsignal.com/how-it-works
David Higgerson’s “Try it Tuesday”: https://davidhiggerson.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/try-it-tuesday-ground-signal/

Jun 15, 2015
Tool: TwXplorerSource: Northwestern University KnightlabDescription: From the about page: “Enter search terms to see a snapshot of related activity in the latest 500 tweets. TwXplorer will break down the most common terms, hashtags, and links for you to filter and drill down further… You can save a set of results by clicking on “Save Snapshot.” The snapshots are displayed by the date/time when you saved them and grouped by query or list (depending on how you obtained the results).”Relevant Links:Project site: https://twxplorer.knightlab.comAdWeek: twXplorer Does Twitter Search Better Than TwitterSteve Buttry: Twitter search gets even better with twXplorer

Tool: TwXplorer

Source: Northwestern University Knightlab

Description: From the about page: “Enter search terms to see a snapshot of related activity in the latest 500 tweets. TwXplorer will break down the most common terms, hashtags, and links for you to filter and drill down further… You can save a set of results by clicking on “Save Snapshot.” The snapshots are displayed by the date/time when you saved them and grouped by query or list (depending on how you obtained the results).”

Relevant Links:
Project site: https://twxplorer.knightlab.com
AdWeek: twXplorer Does Twitter Search Better Than Twitter
Steve Buttry: Twitter search gets even better with twXplorer

Jun 15, 2015
Tool: Emergent.InfoSource: Craig SilvermanDescription: From the about page: “Emergent is a real-time rumor tracker. It’s part of a research project with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University that focuses on how unverified information and rumor are reported in the media. It aims to develop best practices for debunking misinformation.”Relevant Links:Project site: http://www.emergent.info/Underlying research: http://www.craigsilverman.ca/2014/09/02/researching-rumors-and-debunking-for-the-tow-center-at-columbia-university/

Tool: Emergent.Info

Source: Craig Silverman

Description: From the about page: “Emergent is a real-time rumor tracker. It’s part of a research project with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University that focuses on how unverified information and rumor are reported in the media. It aims to develop best practices for debunking misinformation.”

Relevant Links:

Project site: http://www.emergent.info/

Underlying research: http://www.craigsilverman.ca/2014/09/02/researching-rumors-and-debunking-for-the-tow-center-at-columbia-university/

Mar 26, 2015
Tool: The Verification HandbookSource: European Journalism CenterDescription: From the site: “A definitive guide to verifying digital content for emergency coverage. Authored by leading journalists from the BBC, Storyful, ABC, Digital First Media and other verification experts, the Verification Handbook is a groundbreaking new resource for journalists and aid providers. It provides the tools, techniques and step-by-step guidelines for how to deal with user-generated content (UGC) during emergencies.” Relevant Links: Book Page: http://verificationhandbook.com/My review: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/02/verification-handbook-mixes-tools-tips-and-culture-for-fact-checking/

Tool: The Verification Handbook

Source: European Journalism Center

Description: From the site: “A definitive guide to verifying digital content for emergency coverage. Authored by leading journalists from the BBC, Storyful, ABC, Digital First Media and other verification experts, the Verification Handbook is a groundbreaking new resource for journalists and aid providers. It provides the tools, techniques and step-by-step guidelines for how to deal with user-generated content (UGC) during emergencies.”

Relevant Links:

Book Page: http://verificationhandbook.com/

My review: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/02/verification-handbook-mixes-tools-tips-and-culture-for-fact-checking/

Mar 26, 2015
Tool: Citizen DeskSource: SourcefabricDescription: Citizen Desk was designed with mobile reporting in mind and first tested in places with limited Internet connections but it is potentially useful anywhere and it is open source. From the developers: Citizen Desk is a web-platform that allows citizens and mobile journalists to send reports via SMS. “These enter the Citizen Desk, where they are verified on the spot by editors and published to a live blog. Editors are able to easily search Youtube, Twitter, Flick and Google from within the app and then add these sources as supporting material, alongside their own text or images. All this is displayed on a light webpage which adapts to web, tablet and mobile browsers (including WAP). Users can comment on the live-blog using Facebook comments (which are mirrored back to the Facebook page in order to keep the social community involved) in order to discuss veracity and providence. A donation model allows SMS donations to be sent.”Relevant Links: Developer’s site: https://www.sourcefabric.org/en/citizendesk/Case Study: http://emergencyjournalism.net/helping-citizen-journalists-cover-mozambiques-elections/

Tool: Citizen Desk

Source: Sourcefabric

Description: Citizen Desk was designed with mobile reporting in mind and first tested in places with limited Internet connections but it is potentially useful anywhere and it is open source. From the developers: Citizen Desk is a web-platform that allows citizens and mobile journalists to send reports via SMS. “These enter the Citizen Desk, where they are verified on the spot by editors and published to a live blog. Editors are able to easily search Youtube, Twitter, Flick and Google from within the app and then add these sources as supporting material, alongside their own text or images. All this is displayed on a light webpage which adapts to web, tablet and mobile browsers (including WAP). Users can comment on the live-blog using Facebook comments (which are mirrored back to the Facebook page in order to keep the social community involved) in order to discuss veracity and providence. A donation model allows SMS donations to be sent.”

Relevant Links:

Developer’s site: https://www.sourcefabric.org/en/citizendesk/

Case Study: http://emergencyjournalism.net/helping-citizen-journalists-cover-mozambiques-elections/

Mar 26, 2015

Tool: Checkdesk 

Source: Meedan.org

Description: Checkdesk is a verification desk for the digital newsroom designed to help curate user-generated content during breaking news and connect journalists to citizen sources on the ground. “Checkdesk facilitates collaborative fact-checking of unverified reports,” writes the developers. “Professional journalists can join forces with citizen journalists in search of background information and evidence to corroborate social media reports.” Based on the video it is part embedable, liveblog curation platform and part organizing platform for mobilizing users and contributors. Checkdesk is currently in a testing phase at a number of news organizations in the middle east: Al Masry Al Youm and Welad El Balad Media Services (Egypt); 7iber (Jordan); Nahar Ashabab and SMEX (Lebanon); Ma'an Network(Palestine), and Al-Ayyam (Syria). The project is open source. 

Relevant Links: 

Product Page: http://checkdesk.org/

Introduction by Meedan: http://meedan.org/2012/03/verification-citizen-journalism-middle-east-uprisings/

Oct 07, 2013

FourMatch Overview from Fourandsix on Vimeo.

Tool: FourMatch 

Source: FourAndSix

Description: From the site: “FourMatch is an extension for Adobe Photoshop that instantly analyzes any open JPEG image to determine whether it is an untouched original from a digital camera." FourMatch uses an immense database of metadata and more to analyze the digital signature left by hardware and software products on photos. The extension costs $890.

Relevant Links: 

Product Page: http://www.fourandsix.com/fourmatch/
TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/18/photo-fakery-tackled-by-fourmatch-software-that-tells-you-when-the-camera-lies/

Hat tip to Sam Stewart for introducing me to FourMatch.

images photography Verification

Oct 07, 2013
Tool: Churnalism Source: The Sunlight Foundation and the Media Standards Trust Description: Churnalism compares articles articles to a database of press releases. The Sunlight Foundation’s version of Churnalism is based on a UK site and the open-source search engine technology created by the Media Standards Trust. The site is meant as a public accountability tool but could also be useful for journalist assessing blog posts and other source material. Relevant Links:  Churnalism site: http://churnalism.sunlightfoundation.com/ Poynter: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/211284/sunlight-foundations-new-plagiarism-detection-software-launches-claims-a-bust/

Tool: Churnalism

Source: The Sunlight Foundation and the Media Standards Trust

Description: Churnalism compares articles articles to a database of press releases. The Sunlight Foundation’s version of Churnalism is based on a UK site and the open-source search engine technology created by the Media Standards Trust. The site is meant as a public accountability tool but could also be useful for journalist assessing blog posts and other source material.

Relevant Links: 

Churnalism site: http://churnalism.sunlightfoundation.com/

Poynter: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/211284/sunlight-foundations-new-plagiarism-detection-software-launches-claims-a-bust/

Oct 07, 2013
Tool: Full Fact Finder Source: FullFact.org Description: via Journalism.co.uk, “The UK-based fact-checking website Full Fact has launched an online finder which journalists can use to track down accurate information. The Full Fact Finder covers information relating to five topics: economy, health, crime and the law, immigration and education. Search results offer users general background information, as well as details on the sort of data available in the area and links to statistics from official bodies. Relevant Links:  Journalism.co.uk: http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/full-fact-launches-online-fact-finder-for-journalists/s2/a553823/ FullFact.org: http://fullfact.org/ Full Fact Finder: http://fullfact.org/finder

Tool: Full Fact Finder

Source: FullFact.org

Description: via Journalism.co.uk, “The UK-based fact-checking website Full Fact has launched an online finder which journalists can use to track down accurate information. The Full Fact Finder covers information relating to five topics: economy, health, crime and the law, immigration and education. Search results offer users general background information, as well as details on the sort of data available in the area and links to statistics from official bodies.

Relevant Links: 

Journalism.co.uk: http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/full-fact-launches-online-fact-finder-for-journalists/s2/a553823/

FullFact.org: http://fullfact.org/

Full Fact Finder: http://fullfact.org/finder

Oct 07, 2013
Tool: SRSR (pronounced Sourcer)  Source: Nick Diakopoulos Description: SRSR (“Seriously Rapid Source Review”) is an application that helps aggregate and assess sources on social media during breaking news events. The team built in custom computations and cues designed to assess potential sources based on  location, network, and past content. The app specifically aids with three tasks: Automatically Identifying Eyewitnesses - “filter sources based on whether or not they were likely to be eyewitnesses."  Automatically Identifying User Archetypes - "different types of users on Twitter may produce different kinds of information” SRSR segments users according to archetypes: “journalists/bloggers, organizations, and ‘ordinary’ people."  Visually Cueing Location, Network, Entities - assess the potential verity and credibility of a source based on their profile, location and network.  Relevant Links:  Introductory Blog Post: http://www.nickdiakopoulos.com/2012/01/24/finding-news-sources-in-social-media/ Academic Paper - Unfolding the Event Landscape on Twitter: Classification and Exploration of User Categories: http://www.nickdiakopoulos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/dechoudhury-cscw2012.pdf Academic Paper - Information Credibility on Twitter: http://www.ra.ethz.ch/cdstore/www2011/proceedings/p675.pdf

Tool: SRSR (pronounced Sourcer) 

Source: Nick Diakopoulos

Description: SRSR (“Seriously Rapid Source Review”) is an application that helps aggregate and assess sources on social media during breaking news events. The team built in custom computations and cues designed to assess potential sources based on  location, network, and past content. The app specifically aids with three tasks:

  • Automatically Identifying Eyewitnesses - “filter sources based on whether or not they were likely to be eyewitnesses." 
  • Automatically Identifying User Archetypes - "different types of users on Twitter may produce different kinds of information” SRSR segments users according to archetypes: “journalists/bloggers, organizations, and ‘ordinary’ people." 
  • Visually Cueing Location, Network, Entities - assess the potential verity and credibility of a source based on their profile, location and network. 

Relevant Links: 

Introductory Blog Post: http://www.nickdiakopoulos.com/2012/01/24/finding-news-sources-in-social-media/

Academic Paper - Unfolding the Event Landscape on Twitter: Classification and Exploration of User Categories: http://www.nickdiakopoulos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/dechoudhury-cscw2012.pdf

Academic Paper - Information Credibility on Twitter: http://www.ra.ethz.ch/cdstore/www2011/proceedings/p675.pdf

sources journalism verification twitter

Oct 07, 2013

Tools: Spokeo, Wolfram Alpha, White Pages, Google Maps

Source: Markham Nolan, Storyful

Description: In this TED Talk Nolan describes a case study in which the Storyful team tracks verifies a user generated YouTube video of lightening hitting a tree, using only free web tools. Once they found the dramatic video they looked up the name of the user who uploaded the video on Spokeo, then cross reference those results with the weather report’s via Wolfram Alpha, tracked down an exact address in the White Pages, and used Google Maps satellite images to match the house and yard in the video to the address. 

Relevant Links: 

Storyful Blog: http://blog.storyful.com/2012/10/09/find-that-fireball-when-journalist-turns-stalker/#.UfsDnWRARvZ

Aug 21, 2013
Tool: FactCheck.org Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center Description: FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.They describe themselves as “a nonpartisan, nonprofit ‘consumer advocate’ for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.” While their focus is on politics, that topic is taken broadly and encompases a lot of the chatter on the web.  Relevant Links: FactCheck.org: http://www.factcheck.org

Tool: FactCheck.org

Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center

Description: FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.They describe themselves as “a nonpartisan, nonprofit ‘consumer advocate’ for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.” While their focus is on politics, that topic is taken broadly and encompases a lot of the chatter on the web. 

Relevant Links:

FactCheck.org: http://www.factcheck.org

Aug 14, 2013
Tool: WhoWhatWhen Source: Steve Browning Description: WhoWhatWhen is a database of people and events from 1000 A.D. to the present that can be sorted, compared, and aligned quickly to confirm the accuracy of time/people/event references. You can create graphic timelines that provide context for events and people’s lives. Good for confirming if a technology or world event actually happened during someone’s lifetime.  Relevant Links: WhoWhatWhen: http://www.sbrowning.com/whowhatwhen/index.php

Tool: WhoWhatWhen

Source: Steve Browning

Description: WhoWhatWhen is a database of people and events from 1000 A.D. to the present that can be sorted, compared, and aligned quickly to confirm the accuracy of time/people/event references. You can create graphic timelines that provide context for events and people’s lives. Good for confirming if a technology or world event actually happened during someone’s lifetime. 

Relevant Links:

WhoWhatWhen: http://www.sbrowning.com/whowhatwhen/index.php

Aug 07, 2013
Tool: LazyTruth Source: Matt Stempeck, Justin Nowell, Evan Moore, David Kim, Stefan Fox, David Kang, Yael Alkalay Description: An inbox extension that recognizes emails full of political myths, urban legends, or security threats and debunks them in your mail program. Right now it only works in Chrome and  Gmail, but they are looking to expand it. From the site: “People who consulted fact-checking sites in the 2012 election had a better understanding of candidates’ positions, even after controlling for party, ideology, interest in the election, gender, age, education, and race (source). LazyTruth brings this knowledge to you.” Relevant Links: Lifehacker: http://lifehacker.com/5960798/lazytruth-fact-check-chain-emails-responds-to-the-sender-with-the-truth The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/14/3646294/lazytruth-fact-check-chain-email

Tool: LazyTruth

Source: Matt Stempeck, Justin Nowell, Evan Moore, David Kim, Stefan Fox, David Kang, Yael Alkalay

Description: An inbox extension that recognizes emails full of political myths, urban legends, or security threats and debunks them in your mail program. Right now it only works in Chrome and  Gmail, but they are looking to expand it. From the site: “People who consulted fact-checking sites in the 2012 election had a better understanding of candidates’ positions, even after controlling for party, ideology, interest in the election, gender, age, education, and race (source). LazyTruth brings this knowledge to you.”

Relevant Links:

Lifehacker: http://lifehacker.com/5960798/lazytruth-fact-check-chain-emails-responds-to-the-sender-with-the-truth

The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/14/3646294/lazytruth-fact-check-chain-email

Aug 06, 2013

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