corrigo goes MoJo

1

Based on the diploma thesis “conception of a web annotation
system for improvement in German media accountability”

Department of Online Journalism at Kersten A. Riechers {kersten@corrigo.org}
h_da University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, Germany Tobias Reitz {tobias@corrigo.org}

2

Newsroom,
we have a
problem.

3

Would you buy a car with such a high failure rate? (Silverman 2009: xv)

559 factual errors and 400 imprecise formulations have been
found by the fact-checkers at German news magazine Der Spiegel.
They would classify 85 per cent of the erros as relevant.
Janssen 2010: 100

Published corrections represent two per cent of factual errors in
newspapers.
Maier 2009

Counterchecking, editing – journalists sacrifice no more than one
hour per day for these tasks.
Weischenberg et al. 2006: 80;267

Of 130 news stories in which the news sources […] informed the
newspapers of factual inaccuracy, complaints yielded only four
published corrections.
Maier 2009

4

Things are getting worse online

… constant need to update stories, permanent time pressure.
Eberwein 2010

… no time for fact-checking: newsrooms are always in competiton
for a good rank (e.g. Google News)

… factual errors are being twittered, facebooked, shared – and
thus are massively spread.

The dangerous reality is that today‘s journalists are
required to do more with less.
Jeff Jarvis (2007)

6

There are many instruments of media
accountability… high degree of
institutionalization

Press
Research councils

Training

NGOs
Letters to Media
Ombudsmen
the editor journalism
… but can you hear
Online them play?
journalism-external journalism-internal
comments

Media Entertainment
criticism in social formats
networks

Journalist blogs
Citizen
blogs
low degree of
Source: Fengler et al. 2011

7

Let‘s build a new
instrument. No wait,
a whole orchestra!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mitosettembremusica {03.04.2011}

8

Give‘em a hand: the corrigo orchestra!
high degree of

Press
Research councils

Training

NGOs
Letters to Media corrigo combines the
Ombudsmen
the editor journalism different instruments
of media accountabi-
Online
journalism-external
comments
journalism-internal lity making it a great
orchestra.
Media Entertainment
criticism in social formats
networks

Journalist blogs
Citizen
blogs
low degree of
Based on: Fengler et al. 2011

9

It all began with
that sticky idea:
Journalism Warning Labels
by Tom Scott {www.tomscott.com/warnings}

G nd the
understa y are
WARNIN ntent subject
the
Includes co writing a
bout. 10
y
written b tlejohn.
Lit
Richard
G
WARNINurvey results
s, s
Statistic ations in this
qu
The challenge:
http://www.news.tld/just-another-news-text

G and/or e
WARNINis basically article were sp
onsored
news.tldrticle
This a a PR com
pany.
lease, by
just a press re d.
d paste Is there a way to
ct, opied anNEWS TEXT
JUST ANOTHER
c G
Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy

? WARNIN ot adopt Scott‘s great
t does n
Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste

ournalis the
J
G nd
understa y are
WARNIN tent idea in order to label

the

subject
n co bout.
Includes internet articles, too?

writing a
y
written b tlejohn.

this Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy
Lit
Richard

een G

WARNINurvey results
er- Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste

s, s

ch. Statistic ations in this

qu
G and/or e
WARNINis basically

onsored

were sp

article

le pany.
This artic release, a PR com

G Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy

ess
Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste by
just a pr pasted.

ure Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste Copy Paste
nd
ith subje
ct, copied a G
uestions ? WARNINoes not
st d
ked. Journali
G nd the
understa y are
WARNIN tent
n subject
the
co bout.
Includes writing a
ING y
written b tlejohn.
this
laims in Richard
Lit
een G
ve not b
er-
ed by pe .
WARNINurvey results
s, s
esearch Statistic in this

11

Let the
do
and ma gs out –
news.tld ke
you righ them warn
t where
JUST ANOTHER NEWS TEXT bugs ar the
e.

Corrections must exist whereever journalism exists.
Readers should be given new tools to help them report
and track corrections and errors. Craig Silverman (2007)

12

It‘s possible because it‘s online

Newspapers and magazines must wait for their next issue to cor-
rect their errors – on the internet you can do that immediately.

A letter to the editors used to take days to be delivered – using
corrigo you can adress them within seconds. Every reader beco-
mes a potential fact-checker.

We do journalism differently, because we can.
Jeff Jarvis (2009)

13

media accountability
on a new layer

corrigo helps you flag and correct
factual errors, missing links and typos
in online news sources.

It comes as a browser add-on based on web annotation
technology. This makes you see errors and corrections
right in context.

14

press councils

the public online media

watchblogs

As factual errors
corrigo lets the and opinion are
public see and signal seperated, editors are
errors in online media enabled to react and cor-
on a public and inde- rect quicker - and in a
pendent basis. more transparent way.

15

Alliance of the Open-Minded
corrigo is meant to work with journalists, not against them.
Although corrigo is technically capable to work independently
from the media‘s servers, it counts on the collaboration with edi-
tors and reporters. Because the more professionals join and keep
open for criticism, the better the whole media landscape gets.

We all make mistakes. That‘s not the question.
The question is what we do next.
Jeff Jarvis (2007)

16


news.tld
JUST ANOTHER NEWS TEXT
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Factual Error Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Imagine you are reading an article and
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text come by an factual error.
You could notify the editor writing a
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text comment which is likely to drown in
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text the crowd of opinion. Bad idea?

17


news.tld
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Then just go use the corrigo toolbar to
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text report that error!
It always keeps collapsed on top of
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text the article – so it won‘t bother you
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text reading.

18


1
site article new

news.com wanna correct something? choose a category!

Fred Finder
Settings | Logout

JUST ANOTHER NEWS TEXT Fred Finder

Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text post tweet share mail
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text corrigo will now expand right next to
the article. And it is asking you to
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text categorize your error – so please
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text choose:
Factual error? Missing source? Typo?

19


1
site article new

news.tld mark the part of the text you wanna correct

Fred Finder
Settings | Logout


Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Now corrigo asks you to mark as
precisely as possible the passage
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text you are complaining about.
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text You can do so by highlighting or
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text simply spotting a dot somewhere
in the article.

20


1
site article new

news.tld please give reasons for your decision.

Fred Finder
Settings | Logout

reasons reasons reasons reasons
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Great, we‘re almost done! Of course
it would be nice to have a good
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text explanation so we can understand
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text what is wrong:
Write some text and/or add a link.
Then submit!

21


news.tld
Readers should
encounter corrections
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text as they read the
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text article in question;
they shouldn‘t have
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text to go hunting.
Look, what you have done: From now
on everyone using the corrigo Add-On
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Craig Silverman (2007)
is warned by the status bar.
Yellow = unconfirmed error reported
(because Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text you can err, too ;)

22


1
site article new

news.tld please check. is this really a factual error?

Charly Checker
Settings | Logout


follow
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text red green +add t s m
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text another reason another reason
Charly Checker
another reason another reason
To be sure about the error, corrigo
needs more verification. Charly
Checker enjoys good reputation within
corrigo as you can see by his badge.
Since he verifies – corrigo goes along:
Red = error confirmed

23


1
site article new

news.tld thanks badnews.com for correcting this error

badnews.com
Settings | Logout


follow
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text +add t s m
Charly Checker
follow
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text +add t s m
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text thanks fred thanks fred thanks
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text thanks fred thanks fred thanks
At least by now the responsible editor
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text badnews.com
thanks fred thanks fred thanks
takes action and corrects the error.
corrigo +add t s m
Using a Verified Account, he eventually
changes the status back to “green“ –
and thanks everyone for their help.

24


news.tld
So for the moment everything is back
in order. But of course this does not
mean, editors have the final say.
Whenever a user feels this correction
is insufficient – he can switch back
to “yellow”.

25

Welcome to the corrigo Toolbar

http://

1
site article new
switch timeline: whole site / single article / new
prompt info info info info info info info info

badnews.com
color-coded category buttons
Settings | Logout

> factual error | green = errors corrected
reasons reasons reasons reasons > missing source | yellow = unconfirmed error
name
reasons reasons reasons reasons > typo | red = error confirmed
follow
reasons reasons reasons reasons > other | white = nothing reported
follow user‘s reporting reasons reasons reasons reasons
post tweet share mail
sharing options
User badges
name
follow
red green +add t s m
confirming / disconfirm this
thanks thanks thanks thanks verified account (usally granted for editors)
thanks thanks thanks thanks
name
corrigo +add t s m
corrigo = latin for “I correct” adding notification for this discussion

26

http://www.news.tld

news.tld
JUST ANOTHER NEWS TEXT On front pages, the status bar shows
the error-correction-ratio for the whole
site using the color code system.

Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text
Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text

27

http://www.newspaper02.com


This ratio allows a
rough comparison
to other news sites‘
http://www.newspaper05.com accuracy!




28

the news daily news.tld

Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text Text

Once an error has

been reported on
one news site,
corrigo will check

other sites for copies

containing the same
error – and flag them
just another newspaper good times there.

(Think of all the
copyedited news
wires out there…)

29

http://

1
site article new

medium
info info info info info info info info

Name
Settings | Logout

name
I await technology that
article
follow

will also allow us to
+add t s m

send out alerts of our
name
corrections to those who
user
follow

read or wrote about what
+add t s m

we said.
Using RSS, corrigo
name

follow
Jeff Jarvis (2007)
provides different
feeds for…
… a whole medium
+add t s m

feedreader
… a single article newsletter
… a user‘s activity
timeline

30

corrigo visions

Browser Add-On, error categories, highlighting – for the moment,
these features represent the basic configuration to make corrigo
function without overstraining the users right from the beginning.

Nonetheless, corrigo has the potential to scale in functionality and
use once it is established and “understood“ by a wider range of
people. An open source structure is taken for granted.

Here are some of our visions.

31

corrigo visions

fighting haste and paste: If you wonder whether parts of an article
are basically copy-pasted from a press release, you should check
that right away. So why not plug in the great service of Churnal-
ism.com?

sample photos: If an article is illustrated by a sample photo but
does not disclose it in the caption, an image-check could be one
click away with the cooperation of reverse image search engines
like TinEye.com

32

corrigo visions

press council: Depending on the national media landscape,
press councils can be the right institution to deal with moral
issues (which corrigo does not). Filing complaints could be
possible from the corrigo interface.

response rate: How long does it take the editors to respond
to an error claim – and how accurate are their corrections?
A constant ranking could reinforce the media‘s brands and
help people choosing their news sources.

33

corrigo visions

process journalism: Journalists could use corrigo for their
research. Statements from interviewees that the journalist
cannot verify will be published and highlighted – so that
corrigo users are invited to collaborate.

aggregated corrections columns: Everytime an errors gets correc-
ted it adds automatically to the news site‘s corrections column.

CMS plugin: corrigo wants to make editors’ lifes easier. A plugin
could connect corrigo with the newsrooms’ content management
systems. That way, editors could correct minor errors without even
quitting their working environment.

34

corrigo has the potential…
… to uncover and correct factual errors in their very context

… to keep records of corrections and evaluate them

… to counter the massive circulation of wrong (news wire) articles

… seperate opinion from facts

… connect existing instruments of media accountability

… to turn sober fact-checking into fun!

35

Check the texts
– find the facts!

36

Bibliography
• Eberwein, T., 2010. Brauchen wir einen Presserat für den Onlinejournalismus – und wenn ja, wie viele?
Journalistik Journal, 2/2010, pp.6-8. Available at: http://journalistik-journal.lookingintomedia.com/?p=537
[Accessed March 3, 2011].
• Fengler, S. et al., 2011. Medieninnovationen – Neue Chancen für die Medienselbstkontrolle ? Erste Er-
gebnisse einer international vergleichenden Studie. In J. Wolling, A. Will, & C. (Hrsg ) Schumann, eds.
Medieninnovationen. Wie Medienentwicklungen die Kommunikation in der Gesellschaft verändern. Kon-
stanz: UVK Verlags GmbH, pp. 159-176.
• Janssen, H., 2010. Fact-Checking beim Spiegel. In Fact-Checking: Fakten finden, Fehler vermeiden. Netz-
werk Recherche.
• Jarvis, J., 2007. Foreword. In Regret the Error. How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free
Speech. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
• Jarvis, J., 2009. Product v . process journalism : The myth of perfection v . beta culture. BuzzMachine.
Available at: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/06/07/processjournalism/ [Accessed April 14, 2011].
• Maier, S., 2009. Confessing Errors in a Digital Age. Nieman Reports. Available at: http://www.nieman.
harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=101903 [Accessed March 25, 2011].
• Silverman, C., 2009. Introduction to the Paperback Edition. In Regret the Error. How Media Mistakes Pol-
lute the Press and Imperil Free Speech. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
• Silverman, C., 2007. Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech,
Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
• Weischenberg, S., Malik, M. & Scholl, A., 2006. Die Souffleure der Mediengesellschaft: Report über die
Journalisten in Deutschland, Konstanz: UVK Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.

37

This presentation has been prepared in all conscience. To report a Kersten A. Riechers {kersten@corrigo.org}
mistake please get in touch with us at yeahsuredoingawholediplo- Tobias Reitz {tobias@corrigo.org}
mathesisaboutfactcheckingandthenblunderingyourself@corrigo.org www.corrigo.org
or just mojo@corrigo.org

corrigo goes MoJo

corrigo goes MoJo

Recommended

More Related Content

Featured

Featured(20)

corrigo goes MoJo