Comments: UK Parliamentary Committee ‘Fake News’ Inquiry

Today, the News Media Alliance filed in response to the UK Culture, Media & Sports Committee inquiry into “’fake news’: the growing phenomenon of widespread dissemination, through social media and the internet, and acceptance as fact of stories of uncertain provenance or accuracy.” The filing focuses on the solutions to the fake news phenomenon, from the perspective of our members who invest a tremendous amount of time and resources to ensure the accuracy of news content, and adhere to long-standing and voluntary standards in the journalism profession.  We recommend that content from premium publishers should be uplifted in news content feeds of distribution platforms, whether in search or social networks, so that consumers receive information from publishers whose reporting demonstrates the principles of verification, accuracy and fidelity to facts.  We also discuss the lack of self-incentives of the distribution platforms to self-regulate due to their economic incentives to perpetuate fake news.  We are predominantly concerned with the impact this phenomenon will have on consumers’ ability to receive unfettered content, necessary for a healthy democracy.  We will continue to work toward a solution to address this important issue.

The contents of the letter are posted on our website, here.

David Chavern

David Chavern is former President & CEO of the News/Media Alliance. Chavern has 30 years of experience in executive strategic and operational roles. Prior to the Alliance, he completed a decade-long tenure at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.