How journalists and activists can investigate disinformation online

The past few years have placed journalism under fire. The volatile news environment is due to a range of factors transforming the information landscape, raising questions about the quality, impact, and credibility of journalism. At the same time, orchestrated campaigns are spreading untruths - disinformation, and misinformation - that are often unwittingly shared on social media, in the media and on messaging apps.

To help you decipher the truth is the Verification Handbook for Disinformation and Media Manipulation. Published by the European Journalism Centre and supported by the Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the handbook is edited by Buzzfeed’s media editor Craig Silverman, an expert in misinformation and verification.

Written by experts in the fight against disinformation, this handbook explores the very nature of online verification. 

Some of the authors and experts who’ve contributed to the book include Claire Wardle from First Draft, Hannah Guy from Visual Social Media Lab, Henk van Ess, Johanna Wild and Charlotte Godart from Bellingcat, and Sam Gregory from WITNESS.

The handbook is available online at DataJournalism.com, while a downloadable version is coming soon.

We also highly recommend listening to the DataJournalism.com Conversations with Data podcast to hear the handbook's editor Craig Silverman talk to First Draft’s Dr Claire Wardle, a contributing editor who authored a chapter on messaging apps and disinformation.