Managing the Misinformation Effect - The State of Fact-Checking in Asia

"The rise of misinformation has not only been a threat to our society and politics but has also attacked the very core of journalism and the media industry itself."

This report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) explores the state of fact-checking initiatives in five countries in Asia where religious and ethnic divisions, social polarisation, authoritarian politics, partisan media, and low media literacy create fertile breeding grounds for misinformation. It highlights fact-checking initiatives in each country (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), including the challenges they face, and offers suggestions for the way forward.   

As explained in the report, "Historically, journalists were widely accepted as purveyors of truth with time-tested procedures to convey that truth to society. As a result, both the industry and those that delivered it enjoyed a high degree of public trust. But in recent years, as misinformation has reared its head with the expansion of digital and social media platforms, respect for the media's work and role has also eroded. The term 'fake news' is now extensively used to attack and undermine the profession and weaken public trust in the strongest tool available to combat misinformation. One of the biggest challenges faced by the media today is rebuilding that public trust." IFJ stresses that quality journalism plays a crucial role in mitigating the impacts of misinformation and to build public trust, and media workers must be more careful than ever to rigorously follow fundamental journalistic practices and principles. At the same time, they must also support initiatives and collaborate on efforts to combat misinformation - and fact-checking is one of the key methods that journalists, and those wishing to support them, can use to do this.

Over five chapters (each researched and written by a different author), the report outlines how the five Asian countries are dealing with misinformation within their unique contexts. The chapters look at the overall misinformation landscape, existing fact-checking initiatives, their strengths and achievements, the challenges facing fact-checkers, and recommendations for the way forward. The chapters are as follows: 
 

• Bangladesh: Challenging narratives on religion and refugees - by Qadaruddin Shishir
• India: Taking a stand against manipulation and violence - by Vineetha Venugopal and Jenny S.
• Indonesia: Exposing hoaxes, holding politicians to account - by Hesthi Murthi
• Nepal: Promoting digital literacy with scarce resources - by Ujjwal Acharya
• Sri Lanka: Fighting polarisation in public discourse - by Deepanjalie Abeywardana and Mahoshadi Peiris

The chapters reveal how, in Indonesia, fact-checking initiatives have reached thousands with digital literacy programmes and, unlike in other countries, mainstream media outlets have embraced fact-checking. In India, fact-checks are published in many regional languages. In Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, fact-checkers are working hard to protect their politically and religiously/ethnically divided societies from misinformation. In Nepal, fact-checking is holding mainstream media, social media influencers, and the powerful to account. There are, however, numerous challenges facing fact-checkers. As explained in the Foreword, "The challenge for fact-checkers is to identify suspect reports, examine the evidence, and rapidly disseminate the truth by a means that will reach the same media consumers who have been misled. They often do this in a media environment where they, and indeed all journalists, are under pressure from powerful forces, and can be subjected to online defamation, invasions of privacy and even death threats. The work itself can be stressful, sometimes involving the need to repeatedly view potentially traumatising images to establish their veracity. Fact-checking groups struggle to find sustainable business models and to secure revenue streams that free them from dependence on short-term grants. Access to government data can be difficult because official record-keeping is weak or online systems are poor. Online tools may not work with materials in local languages due to underlying technical issues."

The report concludes with a list of recommendations for journalists, media outlets, fact-checking organisations, journalist unions, governments, donors, and academic institutions, who are called on to work together to defend democracy by fighting misinformation, encouraging media literacy, and restoring public trust in independent media. The following are just a selection:  
 

• Media outlets should consider establishing fact-checking units, regularly publish fact-checks, correct misinformation, and promptly and publicly correct their own errors.
• Media operations should consider providing fact-checking skills workshops and training to all journalists and media workers to help mitigate the chances of unintentionally publishing misinformation in media reporting.
• Social media platforms should ensure that fact-checks are given the same level of visibility as the online misinformation they seek to correct.
• Journalist unions should explore and expand efforts to support and represent fact-checkers' "rights to publish" and express solidarity with them by acceptance of their participation as media workers. Unions may also consider extending memberships to the fact-checkers.
• Funders and donors should continue to support fact-checking initiatives by supporting their training, startup, and sustainability programmes.
• Fact-checking initiatives should adhere and remain committed to impartiality, accountability, transparency, and correct methodology.
• Fact-checking initiatives should attempt to publish reports in local languages wherever possible, despite the technological barriers.
• Universities and schools should teach skills in critical reading of official information, mass media, and social media to encourage media literacy.