A panel discussion about The Wire’s recent expose of Meta’s content moderation policy and the many questions that investigative newsrooms face in the process of using digital evidence in their stories.

A recent purported expose of Meta’s content moderation policy by the respected Indian publication The Wire turned out to be a fiasco. While The Wire eventually retracted its story and announced a full investigation, during the early stages of external skepticism toward their digital evidence, the outlet’s editors doubled down and pushed back. This incident highlights the many questions that investigative newsrooms face in the process of using digital evidence as part of their stories.

What is the tension between the need to rapidly break scoops and to meet the needs of rigorous review? What is the role of journalism ethics in the era of forensic scrutiny of digital artifacts amidst the risk of hoaxes? Which safeguards might work best? What must newsrooms do when multiple experts criticize their evidence? Join us to explore this complex territory and consider lessons to be learned.

Panelists:
Julia Angwin, Founder and Editor-at-large, The Markup, New York
Apar Gupta, Director, Internet Freedom Foundation, New Delhi
Subbu Vincent, Director, Journalism and Media Ethics, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Moderator:
Irina Raicu: Director, Internet Ethics program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

https://scu.edu/ethics