Crowdsourcing facts in conflicts : towards a truth-telling mechanism to counter fake news

Abstract EN

The unprecedented rise of mis- and disinformation surrounding con flicts around the globe poses an imminent threat to humanitarian assistance and con flict resolution.

This paper re flects on previous approaches to harness the so-called “wisdom of the crowd” by collecting reliable and real-time information from primary sources during crises.

Using insights from game theory, we present the design of a novel crowdsourcing platform thought to increase reliability and objectivity of con flict-related information.

In contrast to previous approaches, our design incorporates a mechanism that sets incentives for citizen reporters to tell the truth disclosing privately held information as accurately as possible.

Moreover, the proposed platform offers the possibility to certify news based on a multi- stage review process and directly connects reporters and media outlets via an integrated marketplace.

By enabling media outlets to access original and veri fied information from primary sources, the platform is anticipated to become an attractive sourcing tool for media outlets that otherwise would purchase news from secondary sources.

We argue that a platform with these design features can help counter the spread of fake news on con flicts and thereby contribute to more effective humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding.