Vetting User Generated Content

USER-GENERATED CONTENT

Kenny Smith

howard.samford.edu/jmc/ | @SamfordJMC

www.kennysmith.org

• Bills players react as lake effect snow buries Buffalo

• “This is not Syria, its not a grave”

• https://vine.co/v/MYd6ULIAvUD

• https://vine.co/v/OZpnKUZqBzp

A Global Study of UGC in TV and Online News Output

• UGC is used by news organizations daily; can produce stories that otherwise would not, or could not, be told.

• Often used when other imagery is not available.

A Global Study of UGC in TV and Online News Output

• 40% of UGC on television was related to Syria.

• 72 percent of UGC was not labeled as UGC and just 16 percent of UGC on TV had an onscreen credit.

Working with UGC

• 1. Identify, verify the original source and content.

Identify, verify original source and content

• Confirm the person behind the account.

• Examine her digital footprint.

Identify, verify original source and content

• Try to find other accounts associated with the same name/username in order to find more information.

Identify, verify original source and content

• Verify the date and approximate time, particularly when dealing with photos/videos.

• Does the file have EXIF metadata?

– http://regex.info/exif.cgi

Working with UGC

• 2. Triangulate and challenge the source

Triangulate, challenge source

• Does anything look out of place?

• Do any of the source's details or answers to my questions not add up?

• Is there anything on Snopes related to this?

Triangulate, challenge source

• Ask the source direct questions and cross-reference answers to info you get through your own research.

• Reflect what you know from the EXIF data and/or geolocation information from tools like Google Street View and Google Maps.

Working with UGC

• 3. Obtain permission to use the content

Obtain permission

• In Alabama one must obtain the permission of the owner to redistribute.

• The clearest path: get permission and ask if you can work from their originals.

Obtain permission

• Be clear which file you want to use.

• Explain how it will be used.

• Clarify credit.

National Press Photographers Association-funded study

National Press Photographers Association-funded study

• Professional photographs were twice as likely to be shared.

• More time was spent, on average, with professionally generated photographs.

• People look first at faces.

National Press Photographers Association-funded study

• “Bad quality kind of crushes the credibility of a photo.”

• “It’s the people’s faces and their reactions.”

• “You can tell which ones are done by people who know what they are doing.”

References• Inspiration and more: verificationhandbook.com/book/

• Inspiration and more: http://citizenevidence.org/

• https://storify.com/reportedly/a-pocket-guide-to

• http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/millennials-user-generated-media/

• http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-millenials-have-historically-low-levels-of-trust-in-government-2014-4

• http://theweek.com/speedreads/456760/pics-didnt-happen-millennials-are-bunch-selfieloving-skeptics

• http://theweek.com/speedreads/454258/millennials-trust-media-less-than-congress-wall-street

• http://www.poynter.org/news/media-innovation/315887/instagrammers-discover-front-page-nyt-placement-by-chance/

• https://nppa.org/news/eyetracking-photojournalism-new-research-explores-what-makes-photograph-memorable-shareable-and

USER-GENERATED CONTENT

Kenny Smith

howard.samford.edu/jmc/ | @SamfordJMC

www.kennysmith.org