Google, Facebook, Twitter also join BBC-led Trusted News Charter
TORONTO — CBC/Radio-Canada says it is joining forces with other media partners to fight the global spread of disinformation. Canada’s national public broadcaster announced Monday it has joined the Trusted News Charter, a BBC-led initiative to strengthen measures to protect audiences from disinformation.
The charter is the result of the Trusted News Summit, convened earlier this summer by the BBC, and includes a commitment to collaborate on source authentication, civic information, media education, and other responses to disinformation, CBC/Radio-Canada said in a news release announcing its participation in the Trusted News Charter. The BBC’s original announcement can be read here. Other charter partners include Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, AFP, Reuters, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and the European Broadcasting Union.
“Disinformation is a global challenge. We need global solutions,” said Catherine Tait, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, in the CBC’s news release. “Joining the Trusted News Charter is an important part of our ongoing work to ensure Canadians have access to trusted sources of news and information.”
In its news release, CBC/Radio-Canada highlighted some of its efforts to strengthen news and information in Canada, which include:
- Building “disinformation units” in its English and French news services. These units bring together the CBC’s technology, politics, and investigative teams to monitor and inform Canadians about incidents of disinformation. During the election campaign, the Radio-Canada unit Les Décrypteurs will offer a weekly television series on RDI that will provide tools to help Canadians evaluate the information they receive on social media. The CBC unit has created a user guide to disinformation and both news services are working with the Digital Democracy Project, a joint initiative of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and the Public Policy Forum, to track disinformation targeting Canadians.
- Working globally to increase trust and transparency. CBC News is part of the Trust Project, an international partnership with Google, Facebook, and other media companies to increase transparency and accuracy in online news. CBC News policies on transparent labels, corrections, bylines, and links to its Journalistic Standards and Practices on digital news have become a model for other partners in the project. Radio-Canada is part of the International Fact-Checking Network, a unit of the Poynter Institute dedicated to bringing together fact-checkers worldwide.
- Developing a global response to the threat of “deep fakes.” CBC/Radio-Canada says it is leading efforts to develop common international approaches to fight AI-generated “deep fake” video news, including adapting existing technology to digitally verify the authenticity of its news content when it appears on other online platforms. CBC/Radio-Canada is joining the Partnership on AI, a coalition of leading technology, media and civil society organizations defining responsible uses of AI. CBC/Radio-Canada, the BBC, and the Partnership are also leading the working group for the Trusted News Charter’s approach to the growing threat of “deep fakes.”
- Supporting media literacy. CBC/Radio-Canada provides educational information on fake news, especially for younger audiences on its social and video platforms, including a special misinformation edition for Snapchat Discover. CBC/Radio-Canada continues to work with schools to help develop curriculum on understanding disinformation.
“The antidotes to ‘fake news’ are awareness and real news — lots of it,” said Tait. “We will continue to look for ways we can join forces — with other public broadcasters and with credible private media — to support good journalism for Canadians.”
