DW recently introduced a new media verification platform, Truly.Media, that enables media producers and civil society groups to quickly verify news reports circulating on social media. The platform was developed in partnership with the Greek software development company Athens Technology Center (ATC).

Truly.Media’s first major client is the world’s leading human rights advocacy group,  Amnesty International (AI).

“When inconvenient truths prompt public officials to cry ‘fake news’, or when content posted on social media purports to show something it doesn’t, Amnesty International needs to be ready to respond, based on rigorous, methodical research and verification methods,” said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Director, in a statement on AI’s website.

When important news stories go viral on social media, there is a flood of information that is not always accurate, or even worse, manipulated. Truly.Media works by enlisting teams of journalists and editors, along with automation tools, to verify information in real time.

It was recently introduced to the European Parliament in Brussels, where Members of Parliament welcomed it as an impressive tool that will have real benefits for poltical discourse. As the platform shows positive results with AI, more clients are sure to follow.

Truly.Media has been in development since 2016, and was produced with the support of the innovation fund from the Google Digital News Initiative and EU research financing.