During this webinar, Guillaume Kuster and Tim Vinchon from Journalistes Solidaires presented the Open Newsroom, created in response to the COVID-19 infodemic.
The Open Newsroom is designed to debunk falsehoods submitted by the public by pooling together accurate information from journalists, experts, and citizens alike.
Guillaume and Tim discussed how they set up this initiative in less than a month together with a dedicated team of volunteers and using an entirely decentralised methodology.
How does the Open Newsroom work?
Thanks to submissions from online users and content picked up by algorithms, Journalistes Solidaires collects false/misleading information, which is then categorised into open cases and sent to a coordination team.
Depending on the virality of a post and the feasibility of the investigation, journalists are assigned to the case. These journalists, coordinated by other members of the collective, then focus on a case via a Telegram discussion and note their progress and conclusions on the Airtable platform.
The editorial team also works in the Open Newsroom, offering internet users the possibility of viewing the progress of the open case and participating in it using the form on the sheet for each case.
After an investigation, the journalists produce the results of their verifications in different formats corresponding to the different dissemination channels that Journalistes Solidaires has created: publications on the website, video clips, or publications on social networks. After validation by the proofreading team and the chief editor, the results of the case are disseminated on the website and social networks.
Webinar recording
About the speakers
Guillaume Kuster is President of Journalistes Solidaires. He is an expert consultant and trainer in the fields of video storytelling and digital content production. He was a journalist for 20 years for the French broadcasters Radio France and France Télévisions. Since 2014, he has trained 2000+ journalists and content producers to create mobile video content. He’s also helping the media industry to design and produce content to reach new or hard to reach audiences.
Tim Vinchon is Partnerships Manager at Journalistes Solidaires where he coordinates partnerships and communication within the organisation. He is a freelance journalist and consultant in digital innovation and media literacy. He was previously a correspondent journalist in Tunisia for four years.
