CBC/RADIO-CANADA SAID the industry collaboration of major media and technology organizations it joined in 2019, will direct itself to rapidly identify and stop the spread of harmful coronavirus disinformation.
Starting today, partners in the Trusted News Initiative will alert each other to disinformation about coronavirus, including “imposter content” purporting to come from trusted sources, said a CBC release on Friday. Such content (like the lie that 5G technology caused Covid-19) will be reviewed promptly to ensure that disinformation is not republished.
This will complement work already underway by CBC and Radio-Canada to expose mistruths and disinformation around the global pandemic. See the CBC’s Covid-Check unit’s work on false claims and conspiracy theories, and Radio-Canada’s Décrypteurs for more.
The Trusted News Initiative partners are: BBC, CBC/Radio-Canada, Facebook, Google/YouTube, Twitter, Microsoft, AFP, Reuters, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), The Hindu, First Draft, and Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
