Media outlets should always verify information before disseminating their reports, the Google-organized Trusted Media Summit reminds participants. (John Henry Dodson

SINGAPORE—Journalists are constantly being targeted by agents of disinfomation who want fake news items from social media to gain added traction and credibility by making it to mainstream media.

The warning was aired in one of the breakout sessions Monday during the 2019 Trusted Media Summit organized by the Google News Initiative in the tech giant’s headquarters in this city state.

The workshop pushed Responsible Reporting in an Age of Information Disorder and “the crucial role newsrooms play in the polluted info ecosystem.”

With trolls and hacks peddling fake news, journalists were reminded to find the “tipping point” on whether or not to report on fake news that could give falsity “additional oxygen.”

“The mere act of reporting can risk amplifying bad actors and public interest must always be balanced against the potential consequences of the story,” a session material cautioned.

Media outlets were urged to determine the “tipping point at which it becomes beneficial to cover disinformation, write about manipulated content and online extremism.”

Ethical challenges were also raised during the session for monitoring and reporting on misinformation on closed messaging apps and groups.

Likewise, journalists were advised to master the methodologies being used by agents of disinformation so as not to fall victims to “source hacking” in which mainstream media firms are manipulated to propagate disinformation.

With the general public and even supposedly discerning journalists having to sift through information overload, agents of disinformation are having a field day propagating fake news.

At least seven types of mis- and disinformation were identified as follows: False connection, false context, manipulated content, satire or parody, misleading content, impostor content and fabricated content.

In false connection, headlines, visuals or captions don’t support the content, while in false context genuine contents are shared with false contextual information.

Manipulated content referred to genuine information or imagery manipulated to deceive, whereas satire or parody was identified as a popular methodology by fake news peddlers who want to make it appear they have no intention to mislead and were just floating funny takes on issues.

Impostor content was given special focus whereby genuine sources like media organizations and journalists are impersonated to lend credibility to fake news.

Cited as example was the experience of journalist Alex Harris who was forced to make a clarification on fake tweets made through an impostor account.

“There are two fake tweets circulating today attributed to me. They are doctored versions of tweets I sent while trying to tell the stories of victims and survivors…,” Harris tweeted.

A tangible example on “tipping point” was made on a story in the Philippines which alleged that Muslim athletes from Singapore were served non-halal food in the 30th Southeast Games which Manila is hosting.

The initial story of a Filipino athlete complaining about the “unhealthy” street food “kikiam” being served them first came out from mainstream media which unfortunately was not vetted for veracity.

The pork sausage turned out to be made from chicken under halal guidelines and the fake news on the Singaporean team being served the said pork sausage debunked.

The initial quotes attributed from a Singapore sports official were proven to be a total fabrication debunked by an official statement from the Singapore team. (With Mario J. Mallari)