Imagine a world where journalists have access to accurate and trustworthy information at lightning speed. A world where fake news and misinformation have no place in the media. That’s the world that Sanad, AlJazeera’s fact-checking agency, is striving towards.
Sanad is dedicated to supporting journalists in their pursuit of the truth, especially in areas that are often under-reported or misrepresented. They provide journalists with real-time information, investigations, and alerts about misinformation, helping to ensure that their reporting is accurate and reliable.
And now, with the Sanad WA ChatBot, journalists have an even more convenient and efficient way to access Sanad’s resources. They can quickly and easily send verification requests and receive immediate responses, enabling them to stay one step ahead of the fake news trap.
As fact-checking work requires an immediate response, our objective for Sanad WA ChatBot was to reach more journalists that can reach out to Sanad’s newsfeed and real-time fake news alerts and send verification requests through the quickest reachable bot platform for journalists.
The Sanad WA ChatBot is leading the charge in the fight against misinformation, inspiring journalists to uphold the highest standards of journalism and bringing us one step closer to a world where truth and accuracy reign supreme.
:Strategy and Challenges
At Al Jazeera, we are committed to leveraging technology to ensure that our journalists have the tools they need to deliver accurate and timely news.
Our WhatsApp ChatBot is just one example of how we are using cutting-edge technology to meet the challenges of modern journalism and inspire a new generation of reporters to uphold the highest standards of accuracy and integrity.
In today’s fast-paced media landscape, the need for accurate and timely news has never been more important. Unfortunately, the spread of fake news and the rapid pace of news developments has made verification more challenging than ever before.
At Al Jazeera, we recognize the vital role that fact-checking plays in ensuring that our journalists are equipped with accurate information. However, traditional methods of communication, such as email, have proven to be insufficient, especially for journalists in the field.
That’s why we turned to cutting-edge technology to help us achieve our goal of providing accurate daily fact-checks and fake news alerts to our diverse network of journalists. We developed a WhatsApp ChatBot for journalists, which has revolutionized the way we communicate with our reporters.
With our new 24/7 support via WhatsApp Business in partnership with Messagebird, journalists now have immediate access to our newsrooms.
They can receive two daily newsletters, search for open-source news topics and keywords, and identify fake news directly on WhatsApp by sending links, images, or text messages. This has not only increased the reach of our daily newsletters but has also significantly reduced first-response time.
Furthermore, our WhatsApp ChatBot has enabled us to alert journalists to special coverage by Sanad, ensuring that our reporters are always up-to-date with the latest news and developments.
:Results
The Sanad WhatsApp Chatbot has revolutionized the way we communicate with journalists and has become a channel through which we are able to provide accurate and timely information.
:Here is a snapshot of how our WA Chatbot grew in 2022
- Increased the number of journalists using the requests service through WhatsApp by 20% in 2022 compared with 2021.
- We saw an 802% increase in fact-checking requests via WhatsApp compared with 2020.
- Increased rate of the requests through WhatsApp by 25% of all requests received through all platforms.
- Nearly 100% growth vs. the other communication channels used for fact-checking requests compared with 2021.
:Sanad ChatBot publications
