Published : Nov. 12, 2020 - 15:55
Members of Fact-Check Net pose for photos during a news conference in Seoul on Nov. 12, 2020, to announce the launch of the online platform. (Yonhap)
Local journalists, citizens and professionals on Thursday launched a joint fact-checking platform to systematically fight disinformation and misinformation in Korean society.
The online platform "Fact-Check Net" (
https://www.factchecker.or.kr) was established as a consortium among three media organizations -- the Korea Broadcasting Journalist Association (KBJA), the Journalists Association of Korea and the Korean Producers and Directors Association -- and Parti, a social cooperative that has been striving to expand communications based on digital technology.
Fact-checkers working for Fact-Check Net will be divided into two groups -- professional and civic checkers.
The professional fact-checking group will be participated in by 11 news organizations, including South Korea's key newswire Yonhap News Agency, broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, the Hankyoreh newspaper and Law Check, an organization that verifies legal field information based on lawyers' advice.
The civic fact-checking group will have 33 members who have completed a relevant training course offered by the KBJA or are deemed qualified in the field.
The professional and civic fact-checkers will closely cooperate in selecting information to be checked and conducting related research and information gathering activities. The final outcomes produced through collected information and discussions are publicly disclosed on the online platform.
In addition, ordinary citizens who become members of the Fact-Check Net will be allowed to raise subjects to be examined and write comments on issues that are under investigation or verified.
"Fact-Check Net will be developed into a fact-checking library and portal. We'll also create a database comprising fact-checking articles and results produced by reliable news and research organizations in order to provide correct information on major issues," Sung Jae-ho, head of the KBJA, said. (Yonhap)