A group of French researchers, journalists and media education specialists announced on Tuesday the birth of “De facto”, a platform for the fight against disinformation and the French version of a project launched on a European scale.
This initiative, led by AFP, the Sciences Po social science research university, the Clemi (liaison center for education and information media) and the collaborative platform XWiki, was born out of a call for projects launched by the European Commission.
Goal ? Support the creation of eight national projects combining the expertise of academics, media education professionals and journalists to counter false information on 15 countries.
“De facto”, just like its European neighbors, is “independent of the institutions, the government and the initiatives that the government could take on disinformation”, underlined Dominique Cardon, director of the Medialab of Sciences-Po, during a press conference.
“Academic freedom” and “principle of independence of journalistic editors” animate the platform whose launch is “the first stone of a set of actions that will be deployed in the years to come”, he added.
“AFP will coordinate the publication of factchecks which come not only from its editorial staff but also from other editorial staff”, such as Liberation, Radio France, 20 minutes and Les surligneurs, the first partners of this initiative, explained Christine Buhagiar, director. AFP Europe. “There may be other partners who join us later this year, the door will always be open to other factcheckers,” she continued.
Educational content will also be available on the site, explaining how information can be falsified and verified. Teachers and the media can also find more specialized tools and access to free software.
The platform will be the point of launching and publication of “a set of research relating to the circuits of disinformation”, on its effects on the way of obtaining information or on the challenges of regulating digital platforms, it is specified. in a press release.
The other European projects “are about to be launched”, indicated Christine Buhagiar. Countries not yet covered by the European initiative are currently the subject of a call for tenders but by the end of the year, “there will really be total European coverage by hubs against disinformation. “, She guaranteed.