Aug 26, 2017 · 1 min read
I’m no computer expert, but it seems strange in this era of split-second trading and algorithms out the whazoo that we cannot do a better job of fighting fake news.
But rebuilding public trust also relies on other avenues.
A few I would suggest:
- News emojis and other more granular inputs allowing the public to react to articles, and identify what it is they agree and disagree on.
- Analysis that compares reactions between a) anonymous comments, b) from social network accounts, and c) verified real-life names and identities.
- More widespread use of audience-action options, as already used for suicide stories, giving a list of links and other contacts.
There are also some basics that need attending — most news sites don’t even have a code of ethics displayed, or a means of making a complaint. There are few professional sites where readers can go and get a sense of story history from each journalist, to check for bias, etc.
