HKBU Launches App To Fight Fake News

With Covid misinformation and fake news widespread these days, it is becoming difficult for many people to separate fact from fiction. But Baptist University says a new service and app it is launching will help put people on the right track.

The service, BU FactCheck – which is run by a team of 12 academic researchers, veteran journalists, and graduates from the university’s school of communications – pledges to provide independent and transparent fact-checking to help slow the spread of misinformation.

The team said it will trawl through about 2,000 potentially fake claims found on the internet – covering topics such as politics, business, health, and science – and then verify some of them by looking for evidence and interviewing any experts.

A fact-check report will then be compiled and published.

Speaking at a press conference launching the service on Tuesday, associate professor Raymond Li said a "fake news infodemic" started raging in Hong Kong around the second half of 2019.

He told RTHK's Vicky Wong that while fake news is not as pervasive in the SAR as places like the mainland and Taiwan, there is some "commonality in terms of the platforms where fake claims or fake news are available", such as on social media.

He said the main focus of the service would be to identify and verify claims on social media, rather than information put out by news organisations.

"There's concern among Hong Kong people, the general public in Hong Kong regarding fake news," said Li, adding that a recent survey found more than half of people said they had been exposed to false reports over the last year.

Of those surveyed, just under 22 percent said they frequently come across fake news, while around 43 percent said they see just as much fake news as real news.

Li said when it comes to spotting false reports, people should check the source of the information, the content itself – including whether or not it has direct quotes or is a third-party description of events, try not to rely on just one media organisation, and to exercise some common sense.