Poynter reported the Tech & Check Cooperative at the Duke Reporters' Lab used the political conventions in August to work on perfecting its automated fact-checking program, Squash, and its human component, Gardener.
The Shop Talk panelists find the technology fascinating, especially if it is capable of fact-checking in real time. They said it could make it easier for reporters to verify statements made by politicians and others.
The panelists said fact-checking has always been the domain of journalists – sorting fact from fiction is nothing new - but it has become more difficult with the social media reach of those who wish to obfuscate.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier, the students at student radio station The Dog, and the WIU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Rajvee Subramanian, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
