India needs more platforms like ‘Altnews’
Week 2
India has the world’s largest WhatsApp userbase with close to 390.1 million users, reveals a recent report.
Statista, a German company specializing in market and consumer data, had also confirmed back in 2021 that India had the highest number of WhatsApp users.
With such a large user base, one can imagine the reach this messaging app has throughout the country.
Additionally, if you are someone who has watched a bit of recent Indian TV news, the amount of nonsense that is passed off as news ( Reference taken from Newslaundry) cannot go unnoticed. Fake news has made its way throughout the country and it is at times like these that the country needs a fact-checking platform. Enter Altnews.
Altnews is an independent website that investigates and fact-checks various news reports, and other content on social media. It has debunked a lot of misinformation in the past five years and contributed to combating fake news.
The platform has a WhatsApp helpline number +91 76000 11160, where people can request articles and videos to be fact-checked.
Today, as a part of my course assignment, I look at one of Altnews’s fact-checks titled “Fact-check: Child kidnapping video viral on WhatsApp is scripted”.
As an aspiring data journalist interested in fact-checking, I hereby do a critical analysis of this piece focusing on the key narrative techniques mode, genre and audience among many others.
Context
A video was shared multiple times on WhatsApp and Facebook, which showed the kidnapping of children surrounded by a few men haggling over money. Altnews ran its investigation and revealed that this particular video was fake and that it was manipulated before being posted on social media platforms. The original video, as it turns out, was published for awareness purposes only.
My analysis:
Mode
This an online written text. The article has not been published in any other mode.
Social Media
The article was first published on Altnews’s website, where many people usually consume their content. It was also published on their mobile news app, which has an easy share option. They posted a link to the article on Twitter. As seen in the picture below, the Twitter post has a short caption capturing the entire story. This makes the reader get a full picture and also, makes them curious to actually click on the link and read the article.
Although the platform is active on Instagram, this particular article was not posted on Instagram.
What would I have done differently?
I would have made a 15–30 second Instagram reel, and summarised the entire story in pictures along with captioned texts. The reel would include pictures of how the entire story unravelled and also what went into this entire fact-checking procedure. I believe this short video reel would have a deeper impact on the audience, and because this is a sensitive topic involving children, more people would be convinced to watch it.
Genre
- Fact-check
- Human interest
- Investigative.
- Explainer
Audience
The audience here, I believe, is mainly the people of India. The age group that used the app the most was between 18 and 25, as per data from 2018, Statista. However, from what I have witnessed first-hand so far, I believe the age group that is most vulnerable to fake online content is between 30 and 50.
Confession: I was not able to find the latest data on WhatsApp users in India by age group. If anyone finds it, please post it in the comment section and I shall include it in the article. Thank you.
This is a digitally published article, and of course, due to many other political reasons, I feel this fact-checking article may not reach its target audience. An Instagram reel, however, would engage a lot of people, thus achieving the goal.
Narration
The author starts by summarising the issue and then tells us what he found after debunking the misinformation. The hook is captivating and makes the reader want to read ahead and understand how the team went about the entire investigation.
The author, with clear transparency, talks about the technique used in fact-checking, and notes down the exact timelapse of the video where it was edited and manipulated. Transparency is key in journalism; Natalia Mazotte’s chapter ‘Working Openly in Data Journalism’ in The Data Journalism Handbook 2 talks more about the benefits of data journalists working more openly.
Critical
“There are also certain observations that can be made after a thorough inspection of the video. These are not uncommon in other scripted videos.”
— With this statement, the author is telling his readers about the common elements one must look out for when flagging fake videos.
The author ends the piece by shedding light on how there are several other elements that help differentiate a fake video from a real one.
Firstly, the videographer being present right at the scene of the crime, which is in a forest, with a camera cannot be a coincidence. Moreover, the fact that he didn’t call for immediate help after discovering the kidnapped children, and instead kept narrating the chain of events in a dramatic manner also raises suspicion.
Secondly, at the beginning of the video, when the bags are being carried into the jungle, the videographer dramatically narrates the chain of events, even though he is not supposed to know what the contents of the bag are.
Thirdly, at around the 1:16-mark in the video, the videographer positions himself quite close to the ‘kidnappers’ and continues to narrate the events in a fairly loud voice. Yet, the men are completely unaware of his presence.
I like how the author does not stop by just debunking this particular video in question. He makes references and tells his readers about many other nuances in the video. I believe by sharing these little elements, he is equipping his readers with the tools to fact-check videos on their own.
The author also links several other scripted videos their website has previously fact-checked. This helps the readers familiarise themselves with similar fact-checking articles, and also drives up the traffic to the website.
The links to the original sources have been attached throughout the article. This helps the readers crosscheck the content themselves, in turn engaging the readers in the platform’s investigation. The original video has texts in Hindi. The author has translated the texts into English, targeting a global audience.
Overall, I think the author has done a good job in both fact-checking and also writing the article.
