Thomson Reuters and the National Association of Media Literacy and Education (NAMLE) have launched a guide to identifying misinformation on the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Slowing the Infodemic: How to Spot COVID-19 Misinformation’ features a tip sheet, video and podcast to help social media users understand how misinformation is spread and learn to assess what’s real and what’s not.

There has been a clear rise in fact-checking outlets and initiatives globally, with journalism network Poynter tracking a 26 per cent increase in organisations from 2018 to 2019.

Reuters has a team of fact-checkers that work to identify Covid-19 misinformation on social media, led by Hazel Baker, Head of UGC Newsgathering.

Baker lent her expertise to producing the guide and said, “We know that many people who share misleading posts on social media aren’t doing so intentionally. The false claims may be hidden amongst fact and are passed on in the belief that the information may help others.

“We hope this resource will encourage everyone who uses social media to scrutinise the source of virus-related information that they encounter and think twice before sharing.”

Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Executive Director of NAMLE added, “Combatting misinformation and enhancing media literacy skills has never been more important. We must work together to navigate this complex information landscape especially in a time of a global pandemic.

“We are thrilled to have had the chance to work with Thomson Reuters on these teaching materials to bring important information and skill-building to social media users of all ages around the U.S. and beyond.”

Four resources have been identified and provided by the project: 

Listen as Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Executive Director of NAMLE, has an in-depth conversation with Hazel Baker, Head of User Generated Content Newsgathering at Reuters, on her team’s work in combatting misinformation
Watch as Hazel Baker shares four quick tips on spotting misinformation in your everyday interactions
Share our “Spotting COVID-19 Misinformation” tips sheet with others
Teach our younger generation about media literacy by leveraging this educators’ guide

‘Slowing the Infodemic:  How to Spot COVID-19 Misinformation’ is available here: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/about-us/social-impact.html#misinformation