First Draft Coalition launches website to help journalists work with eyewitness media

Finding and verifying user-generated content from social media is becoming an increasingly important step in the newsgathering process.

The terror attacks in Paris reinforced the need for news outlets to start the verification process while events are still ongoing, as people will likely turn to social media for real-time updates.

Launching today, the First Draft News website aims to equip journalists with the knowledge and tools required to find and use eyewitness media in an accurate and ethical way.

Funded by Google News Lab, the initiative will draw on the experience of a coalition of eight experts and organisations working in the field, including reported.ly, Eyewitness Media Hub, Storyful and Meedan.

After a big news event, you actually see newsrooms stepping back and reflecting on their practiceClaire Wardle, First Draft Coalition

Claire Wardle, co-founder of the Eyewitness Media Hub and research director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, has trained over 4,000 people in the field of social discovery and verification since 2009, but says there are still plenty of students and journalists who lack the necessary skills and knowledge.

"I think there are some journalists who think 'oh, we've been talking about this for ages'.

"But actually, there isn't one place where you can send people to find up-to-date information, resources and reflection pieces about the issues related to eyewitness media, whether that's discovery, verification, ethical use or questions about publication."

Since the First Draft initiative was made public in June, members of the coalition have been using Medium to regularly publish how-to guides and features around social media verification aspects, including the ethics surrounding the use of eyewitness media and how journalists can spot fake footage and hoaxes.

The posts have so far offered advice on using eyewitness video footage, creating Twitter lists to build up sources around particular topics, and what apps journalists can use to stay safe when reporting on the ground. The team also published a free visual verification guide in September.

The new website will feature industry news, case studies, interactives and training resources, designed both as best practice guides and analysis focused on specific news events, such as the attacks in Paris, the Charlie Hebdo shooting or the Bangkok bombing.

Registered users will also be able to save, recommend and collect articles posted on the website to quickly compile 'packs' of resources, which can be shared with others or kept private.

"After a big news event, you actually see newsrooms stepping back and reflecting on their practice," Wardle said, "and my hope is that when they do this, some of the content that exists on the website might be used as resources."

The coalition includes both journalists who are practising social media verification on a daily basis, and members who are "reflecting and talking about rigorous research they're doing in this space, who are taking a longer-term view on these trends", explained Wardle.

Fergus Bell, founder of Dig Deeper, a digital newsgathering consultancy, is also a member of the coalition and his work for First Draft News will revolve around verification workflows in the newsroom.

"I'm spending a lot of my time focusing on the processes and tools needed to get [information] out the door quickly," he explained.

It's about the theory and tools altogether that should, at least, get people thinking about how they can take on these concepts in their own newsrooms, rather than dictate the best way to do itFergus Bell, First Draft Coalition

Some of the challenges First Draft News might face, he added, could stem from "the perception from the audience, that if they read something, then they can file it away and it will be good forever.

"This concept of UGC verification and digital newsgathering is so fast moving, that all it takes is an update from Facebook or a similar company and it means we have to scramble to get to grips with that tool, work out how it's going to be used for actual, real life news stories, and then feed it back through the First Draft output."

There are plenty of verification tools available, he said, but some have limited capabilities, cannot be used in certain situations, or happen to be out of the reach of smaller newsrooms with fewer resources available.

First Draft News will build recommendations around particular case studies, which will "give a snapshot of 'on this day, at this time during this story, this is the best approach'" and can later be updated to ensure the content stays relevant to what's happening in the news.

"We're trying to come up with advice that is scalable – it's about the theory and tools altogether that should, at least, get people thinking about how they can take on these concepts in their own newsrooms, rather than dictate the best way to do it," said Bell. 

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