About this episode
In the coronavirus pandemic, following the wrong information could be a fatal error. That’s why fact-checking organizations are delivering projects to separate truth from rumors. Silvia Cavasola, project manager, Pagella Politica, Milan, Italy, shares how teams from multiple organizations are working together to create a chatbot to answer COVID-19 questions. She also talks about the chatbot’s potential to create a closer relationship between readers and fact-checking platforms. Itziar Bernaola, director, Newtral Educación, Madrid, Spain, says her organization is facing an increasing number of fact verification requests due to COVID-19. Bernaola shares how she’s leading her team through a stressful time and discusses an automation project to help fact-checkers verify coronavirus information faster. Key Themes [02:05] Expanding fact-checking beyond the political world to include nonpolitical, coronavirus misinformation [03:50] Project of necessity: A chatbot for COVID-19 queries [07:27] Creating a relationship between readers and fact-checking platforms [09:27] Leading a team with an increased workload in a stressful time [12:46] Using automation to verify information