“Give everyone the keys to better inform themselves. “This is the meaning of the European” De Facto “project, launched this Tuesday, of which 20 minutes is a partner alongside the leading French media in fact-checking. This “unprecedented initiative”, carried by four actors within the framework of a European project (see box), aims to bring together on the same platform “journalists specializing in fact-checking, researchers observing the transformations of the public space. digital and media and information education professionals ”, explain the initiators of the platform.
Concretely, “De Facto” brings together, free of charge, fact-checking articles from the Fake off section of 20 minutes, AFP, Release, Highlighters and Radio France, the
presentation of research work on “the circuits of disinformation, the effects of […] on how to get information and the challenges of regulating digital platforms ”, as well as
educational tools for teachers and the general public.
“Digital platforms have upset the rules of the information game”, note those responsible for the project. “Our societies are hardly discovering the effects of this new freedom. Some are extraordinarily positive, others appear particularly toxic “:” confidence in the media is contested “, and” disinformation pollutes public discussion “. Hence the need “to share the tools and solutions to defend quality information”.
For our editorial staff, participation in this platform was natural. ” 20 minutes and its editorial staff have been involved in the fight against “fake news” in 2017 by creating an ad hoc service, “recalls Armelle Le Goff, editorial director. The Fake Off section was among the first French media to obtain Poynter-IFCN certification issued by the IFCN (International Fact-Checking Network). It now has three journalists, a selection of articles of which will be available directly on the “De Facto” platform.
A project led by Sciences Po, AFP, Clemi and XWiki
Co-funded by the European Commission, and endowed with “total editorial independence”, “De Facto” is supported by Sciences Po, AFP, Clemi (Center for Media and Information Education in Education national) and the IT company XWiki SAS. The platform subscribes in a European program “Giving birth to eight media and information observatories covering 15 European countries”, allowing “to understand the international dimension of disinformation mechanisms and the need to share tools and solutions to defend quality information”, indicate project leaders.