Marco Narzisi: Free journalism, fake news and Truth in the age of WordPress [WCGVA 2022]

My notes of WordCamp Geneva 2022, might be incomplete or contain errors!

Anybody can create a site easily today… a newspaper! How can WP support journalism? Open-source, customisable, easy to use.

Three examples of good use.

• Il Post: free content (Italian), they explain facts, good explanations, no ads.
• Open: founded by Enrico Mentana, non-profit. Brings young readers close to information, fact-checking. They have ads, donations.
• Gas social: (Ticino): social and political criticism, non profit association, membership fees, subscription for paid content, donations.

Bad usage: clickbaiting, misinformation sites, hateful content, fake news sites.

• Lercio: obviously satirical (announced)
• Pit poisoners: money through ads with clickbait titles. Sensational news with no verification.

Identify fake news:

• Impressum/Team info (usually missing on misleading websites)
• Article author indicated on each author
• Real webdesign versus basic template
• Images: serious websites use an agency and show credits. If it’s just ripped from the web, beware.
• Also look for: fact-checking, corrections when mistakes are made.

WordPress is a powerful instrument to contribute to the general information ecosystem if we feel we have value to add. Focus on information rather than making money. It’s a question of conscience.

Originally published at Climb to the Stars.