Solutions to create trustworthy journalism in a crowded digital world

As journalists today, we are operating in a toxic digital environment where it can often be difficult to distinguish a fact from a lie.

The media environment, which informs ordinary citizens, is contaminated by false information, conspiracy theories, ideological extremism and manipulative voices.

New technologies make it easy for anyone, including bad actors, to create and share information that appears authoritarian and that spreads virally. 

The conflict between speed and accuracy has been exacerbated by the demands of the digital age to deliver information as quickly as possible, but accelerating that process increases the chances that it will be wrong.

Alongside this, there is a public that is increasingly disillusioned and distrustful of journalism that is often regarded as too negative.  
   
So how do journalists distinguish themselves from other online information providers?   
   

It opened my mind

Responsibility, Transparency and Ethics

As part of the project, 100% Cierto, Thomson Media in partnership with Foro De Periodismo Argentino, FOPEA has been working with Argentine journalists to provide answers.  

The first activity, “Responsibility, Transparency and Ethics”, was to help journalists strengthen their skills in verification, accuracy and independence, as well as to apply innovative journalistic approaches, such as solution and transparency journalism, to their own work.   

Due to the coronavirus pandemic the training had to be carried out virtually through self-paced online courses and e-workshops.

“The truth is that I liked the course very much and solution journalism surprised me pleasantly,” says Leonardo Herreros a journalist at Diario Rio Negro, Rio Negro. Patagonia. “It seems to me a very novel approach to our profession.” 

Mentors

The journalists from nine media organisations from four regions in Argentina also had the opportunity to discuss the challenges facing journalists with leading voices in international journalism, including Liza Gross, Vice President/Press Officer Practice Change at the Solutions Journalism Network in New York and Luis Botello, Assistant Vice President for New Initiatives and Impact, International Center for Journalists in Washington DC. They will continue to advise the journalists.  

The programme, 100% Cierto, is funded by the European Union.