Check was founded in 2011 as Checkdesk, and in 2016, the product acquired its new name. The Check project has worked to build online tools, support independent journalists, and develop media literacy training resources that aim to improve the investigative quality of citizen journalism and help limit the rapid spread of rumors and misinformation online. In addition to building software, they run workshops and panels, and they contributed to the European Journalism Centre’s Verification Handbook, edited by Craig Silverman, with case studies and an Arabic language translation. It’s an online workspace that lets users verify online photos and text, build datasets and structure open-source investigations. This award-winning tool connects WhatsApp users to journalists, supports multi-newsroom fact-checking during breaking news, and crowdsourcing of investigative evidence. Check helps journalists, civil society organizations, researchers and human rights investigators on cutting-edge of information gathering and verification. Check supports some of the largest collaborative reporting initiatives in history.
(Independently written)