Industry Sites and Chat Apps

Industry sites such as the BBC Academy and Poynter have produced a wealth of how-to guides and practical knowledge on chat apps for newsgathering13,14 and distribution.15,16 In terms of newsgathering—the primary focus of this report—subjects range from social discovery to distinct issues associated with these apps, including the anonymity feature with Yik Yak.17,18 First Draft News has been one of the online pioneers in news discovery and verification practices. While praising the possibilities associated with chat apps to make contacts and share information with audiences, Alastair Reid reported that chat apps such as WhatsApp can have limitations for finding sources or stories. “WhatsApp isn’t really a platform,” Storyful’s David Clinch told First Draft News. He continued:

It just isn’t. It’s a private messaging app. There’s no platform that you can search, there’s no API, there’s no geolocation you can search [to find nearby users], you just have to be connected to people [through prior acquaintance or with a phone number]. So we’ve cheated by identifying the people, in particular places where WhatsApp is very useful as a newsgathering tool, who act as the nodes.19

While discussions on chat apps can have features similar to those on other social networking sites, on the Storyful blog Mark Little noted that when using WeChat he “was struck by the addictive clutter of voice and video chats, group conversations, innovative friend-finder features and highly effective QR codes. An online payment system powers a frenetic marketplace, offering everything from limitless emojis to taxi hire.”20 He added that “public debate takes place within a very narrow spectrum but it is perhaps fiercer and more impactful because of that. In debates around corruption, police misconduct and official neglect, social networks have become a channel for populist outrage and a source of offline action and opportunity.” In the past few years, empirical evidence on how reporters and sources have been using chat apps has been abundant. Other industry sites include the Verification Handbook, BBC Academy, 21,22,23 and Poynter.24,25 In addition to these sites, Hong Kong University also published industry-related pieces on verification on chat apps during the 2014 Hong Kong protest.26,27

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