Gigafact, a new nonprofit project, offers funding and tools for nonpartisan newsrooms to intercept unsupported claims and impact social media discourse.
MENLO PARK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Three newsrooms, the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, The Nevada Independent, and Wisconsin Watch, have joined the newly launched Gigafact in an effort to push back on misinformation surrounding the 2022 Midterm Elections. They are especially focused on rapidly responding to claims that spread misinformation, attack election integrity or election officials, and which promote voter suppression or intimidation.
As members of the Gigafact network, the newsrooms are swiftly identifying unsubstantiated claims circulating on social media regarding the states’ campaigns and elections, then contributing no-frills fact briefs to correct the record. Gigafact works to get these fact briefs seen by the public and get this data into the moderation processes of the major social and search platforms.
“We see many unsubstantiated claims circulating about candidates, key issues and the integrity of Nevada elections,” said Elizabeth Thompson, editor of The Nevada Independent. “Nevada is a key swing state, and false claims of election fraud can and have done considerable damage to faith in the election system. It’s critical that the public has access to the facts this November. Gigafact’s program allows us to get essential information out when and where it’s most needed.”
Brandon Quester, the founder, executive director and editor of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, said misinformation surrounding Arizona’s 2020 election proliferated online and in public discourse. The trend, he said, has only increased. “Although timely fact checking is a bit outside AZCIR’s traditional deep-dive reporting timeline, we believe strongly in countering misinformation in our state, especially now. We’re excited to bring our investigative reporting expertise to bear, using our knowledge to help set the record straight in a more immediate way.”
“These regional and local nonprofit newsrooms are doing amazing work reporting on important democratic issues,” said Chandran Sankaran, Founder of Gigafact. “We want to help them find new pathways to bring this authoritative knowledge into social media to intercept baseless claims before they have a chance to develop and travel.”
According to Dee J. Hall, managing editor and co-founder of Wisconsin Watch, joining Gigafact is part of the news organization’s commitment to using a variety of strategies to combat mis- and disinformation. “Producing these 140-word fact briefs is a promising approach to countering false information, which is polluting our culture, politically and otherwise,” Hall said. “We’re willing to try any strategy to counter this insidious trend.”
Professionals in news media and platform content moderation can access the stream of fact briefs via email alerts, RSS feeds or API via this resource page.
Any organizations interested in learning more about Gigafact can reach out to robyn@repustar.com for more details.
Contacts
Robyn Sundlee
(509) 654-4457
robyn@gigafact.org
