Media Matters for Democracy has launched ‘Facter’ a collaborative fact-checking tool for newsrooms to counter misinformation.
The Islamabad-based media development organisation said that the tool was launchedto support newsrooms to ‘deliver accurate information’.
“To foster sustainable collaborations, Facter functions as both a tool and a platform, streamlining fact-checking processes for newsrooms efficiently,” a statement from MMfD said.
The tool has already been deployed in more than 10 regional and national newsrooms in Pakistan, as per MMfD. Thr organisation also said that the project has already been piloted in multiple newsrooms and is now being expanded.
“Facter also aligns with MMfD’s long-term goal of enabling newsrooms to enhance web traffic and digital revenue through the publication of verified, credible information,” MMfD Director Asad Baig said.
Baig added that Facter will work by curating information from credible media outlets as well as MMfD’s own monitoring team. The information is then categorised into four categories: suspected information, misinformation (fact checked by MMfD), misleading information (fact checked by MMfD), or verified information.
“Additionally, Facter connects newsrooms to an extensive stream of information related to their investigations by aggregating relevant content published by various local fact-checking and media organisations,” MMfD said.