To Combat Disinformation, Journalists Need to ‘Go on the Offense,’ Says ICFJ President

By: ICFJ | 08/30/2023

An Editor & Publisher article recently featured ICFJ’s efforts to combat disinformation, through the Disarming Disinformation initiative. ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi discussed the various aspects of the program and highlighted the spread of disinformation on a global scale.

“Disinformation has no borders,” she said. “I think that this is one thing that we, in the U.S., need to keep in mind — that local news exists in a global context. There are big global issues affecting our local audiences, and I think how we respond to that is really important.”

Disarming Disinformation is run by ICFJ with lead funding from the Scripps Howard Fund. The three-year project empowers journalists and journalism students to fight disinformation.

Through an emphasis on investigative journalism, community engagement, and research, the program aims to help newsrooms implement strategies to combat disinformation. Moshavi expressed the need for journalists to engage with partners and expand their reach.

“Journalism is an important defense against disinformation, and it has to not only go on the defense, it has to go on the offense,” she said. “The flip side to disinformation is quality journalism. There has to be good news to fill those gaps, not just to combat disinformation but to fill that truth gap.”

Read the full story at EditorandPublisher.com.

Latest News

Journalists to Investigate Education, Evictions & More With Support from ICFJ and News Corp

Four early-career journalists supported by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) will report on education, high school sports, eviction trends, and immigration enforcement. This financial support and mentorship are made possible by an ICFJ program supported by News Corp. It is designed to support early-career journalists around the world through training and reporting grants.

Sharon Moshavi on Journalism, Disinformation and Why Facts Still Matter

Sharon Moshavi, the president of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), recently joined the Ink and Insights podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of journalism and the evolving information ecosystem. The interview, hosted by author and storyteller Sumit Sharma Sameer, touched on the growing role of AI in both enhancing and undermining journalistic work, the importance of audience-centric innovation and why young reporters must build subject-matter and tech fluency to stay resilient in the industry.

ICFJ Knight Fellow Sannuta Raghu Says “Fidelity to Source” is Vital When Using AI

Newsrooms globally have begun exploring ways to convert their journalism into different formats using AI: for example, from text articles to videos, podcasts, infographics and more. As they do so, the core challenge isn’t just accuracy – it’s rigor. Journalists strive to get facts right and attribute them clearly, avoid bias, verify claims, and maintain transparency. When AI is used to convert a work of journalism from one form to another, the same rigor may not carry over.