昨天首次踏入中央社去分享事實查核的全球與在地社群,以及事實查核的回顧與展望。
中央社是台灣的國家通訊社,有最優秀的記者和特派員,把世界的新聞傳回台灣,也把台灣的新聞傳播給華文世界和國際社會,是堅守在真實最前線的記者。
我則是分享和總結自己在過去五年,蹲在謠言田野的發現和心得。我從跑商業、中國新聞,到學習OSINT和動手闢謠,當中有許多的摸索和發現。
事實查核社群,跟新聞工作,有相同點,也有相異之處。它最迷人之處,莫過於它有全球事實查核的網絡,形成全球協作,而在台灣,它則長出一個動力充沛、能量滿滿的闢謠社群生態。
我介紹了CoronaVirusFacts Allience。這是我在2020年1月通報當時IFCN副主任Cristina,我們共同促成的全球查核協作計劃,促成百家查核組織一起打擊COVID的infodemic。
在IFCN架構下,查核組織共同全球協作的默契,也讓烏俄戰爭爆發時,西班牙查核組織Maldita一封信,就啟動80多家查核組織串連的UkraineFacts計畫,一起打擊戰火裡的不實訊息。
這不同的世界、不同的社群力量,是可能,也可以跟台灣媒體圈有更多交集和激盪。同時,為了準備這一場演講,我也重新再以新聞人的角度,來看OSINT社群、闢謠社群。
同時,我挑了兩個查核的個案,一個是2021年蕭美琴參加拜登總統就職被說是路過、買旅遊團行程進去,一個是新華社發布給另一個國際通訊社的解放軍看火力發電廠照片,來解釋查核是什麼、方法學怎麼做、什麼叫做OSINT、新聞守門和闢謠打假有什麼差別。
這兩個重要的查核工作,都受到邀請我去分享的陳副社長大力協助,過去五年以來,他是中央社總編輯,時常受到我的請託,中央社守護真實第一線記者的協助。這些回顧和分享,也似乎是回顧我們一起打下的假訊息戰役。查核原本就需要守在真實第一線記者的協助和奧援。
副社長最關鍵的協助,幫助我們掌握「解放軍看花蓮和平火力發電廠」為何全球大放送,國際知名媒體都引用,為什麼呢?新華社付費給知名國際通訊社,讓新華社的新聞素材擁有無敵通道。也因此,我有機會透過這則查核,讓國際社會關注新華社散播假訊息的通道。
過去的五年,宛如昨日,然而,一切已在另一個新起點。我更期待自己累積對謠言劇本的掌握,來發展思考新聞編輯室工作和闢謠工作的新方法。
這也是我發出#FactLink 新名片的第一個場合喔!!
到中央社分享自己五年的總結,感覺我在2025年開年就從宇宙得到的鼓勵,這也是在我開始FactLink中最棒的開始。
Summer, co-founder of FactLink, visited Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) yesterday to share insights on global and local fact-checking communities. It was the perfect stage to unveil 主題標籤#FactLink’s new branding—a strong kickoff to 2025!
CNA, Taiwan's national news agency, is renowned for its excellent journalists and correspondents.Summer shared her experiences and discoveries from the past five years spent tackling mis/disinformation.
She found that the fact-checking community shares similarities with journalism but also has distinct differences. Its most captivating aspect is its global network, enabling worldwide collaboration. In Taiwan, it has grown into a vibrant ecosystem for combating misinformation.
These global and community efforts could spark more collaboration with Taiwan's media sector. Preparing for this talk, Summer revisited fact-checking and OSINT communities from a journalist’s perspective.
She highlighted two key case studies: one involving false claims about Taiwan’s ambassador Hsiao Bi-khim at President Biden's inauguration in 2021, and another about a Xinhua News Agency photo of a PLA officer monitoring at a power plant. These cases illustrated fact-checking methods, OSINT, and the distinctions between journalism’s gatekeeping and debunking work.
These successes were made possible with the critical support of CNA's Vice President Chen, who, as editor-in-chief over the past five years, frequently assisted in exposing false information and upholding journalistic integrity. His efforts were instrumental in uncovering how Xinhua leveraged paid access to a major international news agency for spreading misinformation, enabling Summer to raise international awareness about the issue.
Looking back on these five years, it feels like they flew by in a blink, but they also signal a fresh start.
Summer’s ready to take everything she’s learned about dis/misinformation playbooks and use it to push boundaries in newsroom innovation and debunking strategies.