DEVELOPING SOURCES

Establish reliable sources to more quickly find content, daily leads, and people who can provide corroborating information to help in the verification.

• Reliability cannot be assumed. It must be established over time. Reliable accounts lead to other reliable accounts. Factors to consider include:
• Can content from the source be independently verified?  
• Does a source’s reporting tally with multiple independent sources?
• Can the source be contacted directly?
• How do they respond to being challenged on a claim?
• Are they forthcoming with information that can be independently verified?
• Are they transparent about their motivations?

Wherever possible, contact the source to learn where their information and content comes from. Is it realistic that an individual could provide all of the content on a given account? Are you dealing with a network of individuals and, if so, what impact does that have on the validity of their information?

Making direct contact will let you build trust and transparency with a social media source. Be open when communicating with sources and give information about your organization and intention.

The nature of the language while reaching out could vary from country to country, due to the sensitivity of the political conflict in the region.   

For example, when working on content from inside Syria, Storyful’s journalists were aware that the conflict was highly complex and sensitive and that Syrian society was polarized. Before reaching out to any party, we asked these questions:

1. Who is the uploader?
2. Who do they support?
3. Are they a media activist group or an individual?
4. Where are they based in Syria?
5. Are they operating in government areas or opposition areas?
6. What is their religious and cultural background?
7. What is their political stance? Are they pro-opposition, pro-government or neutral?

Content from militias, military forces and government sources can be considered public – provided for dissemination. For all other sources, seek permission before using their content.

Use neutral language in all communications with sources on the ground. For example, avoid using the word “militia” when describing rebels or opposition groups when speaking to uploaders who take a pro-opposition stance. The same should be applied while communicating with uploaders who take a pro-government stance. For example, avoid using the word “regime” when describing a government.  

Once a set of reliable accounts has been established, mine them for daily leads and content.

Make use of existing, publicly available sources wherever possible, and work to independently verify information from those sources.

Find relevant lists on Twitter as follows by searching online:

• site:twitter.com/*/lists/keyword
• site:twitter.com/*/lists/*keyword