Blog: The need for disability-inclusive tools to combat online disinformation

Despite many fact-checking tools, online journalism must embrace inclusion. This requires inclusive digital security training for digital news companies and accessible fact-checking tools.

Writer: Nancy Marangu

The evolution of social media platforms has changed the dichotomy in which information is received and disseminated over time.

As a platform enabler, the internet has given birth to digital, also known as online journalism, which allows everyone to share information quickly. Digital journalism, a modern form of reporting in which editorial content is distributed via the internet, is continuing to transform journalism.

While we appreciate the rapid distribution of content, we must remember that fake news and misinformation continue to affect everyone, mainly persons with disabilities (PWDs). As a result, interventions for PWDs are required so that they can benefit equally from objective and accurate information.

As a result, it is necessary to:

To begin, news organisations must ensure that inclusive media verification tools are accessible and usable by people with disabilities during content distribution. This is because news organisations and digital platforms play a significant role in news distribution control and managing digital journalism collaboratively. This implies that information distributors can be as creative as possible in providing messages in various forms, including speech, while maintaining accessible websites.

Second, NewsCheck is being integrated into the information distribution platform. NewsCheck uses blockchain technology to provide credible scoring on information posted on various social media platforms. This necessitates that news organisations develop accessibility applications that PWDs can easily use to identify disinformation and investigate mechanisms for correcting false information.

Third, while using institutionally accessible websites, news organisations can incorporate Adblock Plus, a browser extension and application that blocks advertisements and websites via filtering lists. The filtering list protects users from malicious and disinformation-spreading websites.

Finally, according to Rand Corporation, 2022, Bot Sentinel is a platform designed to detect and track troll bots and untrustworthy Twitter accounts. Bot Sentinel analyses Twitter accounts, classifies information as trustworthy or untrustworthy and identifies bots using machine learning and artificial intelligence. Developers use the data they collect to investigate the impact of bots and their propaganda on discourse, as well as ways to combat the spread of bots and the information they spread. Untrustworthy accounts must be classified manually. Hundreds of tweets and retweets are reviewed during the review process. They may label an account untrustworthy if it has many followers and a high percentage of misleading and/or factually incorrect tweets. However, it is essential to note that most digital journalists share information on their Twitter platforms. While information is distributed, it is unfortunate that the owners of the companies conduct little or no continuous research to determine the population segments that access information through their platforms.

In conclusion, while there are many more fact-checking tools available, the need for online journalism to incorporate inclusion is critical. Moving forward, this will necessitate more inclusive digital security training for digital news organisations and intentional innovation in information fact-checking tools accessible and usable by people with disabilities.

This blog article was published as part of an assignment for the Empowering Fact-checking in South Sudan (EFiSS) Training Program by 211 Check.