Misinformation and fake news are high on the agenda in Dutch newsrooms. Somewhat surprisingly, none of the journalists interviewed indicated that their news media were using automated fact-checking tools, such as the Google News Initiative or membership in the Open Data Institute, for instance.
Checking news sources seemed to rank at or near the very top of journalistic values in the Netherlands. For instance, De Telegraaf has the co-workers of the writer proofread articles. Further on, the news chief, the editor-in-chief, and the final editor read pieces to minimise the risk of publishing sloppy work or false information. In October 2019, a report commissioned by Interior Minister Ollongren (Rogers & Niederer, 2019) presented the impact of disinformation and so-called junk news appearing on social media before and during the 2019 Provincial Council elections and European Parliament elections in the Netherlands. This report signalled a proliferation of large volumes of tendentious and fake news. Examples of actual disinformation and fake news are hardly found in the Netherlands, but many hyperpartisan, extreme, and openly ideological “junk news” sites, such as Opiniez, Stop de Bankiers, E.J. Bron, Dagelijkse Standaard, Climategate, geenstijl.nl, tpo.nl, and so forth are in existence. Clickbait sites include tpook, parra, viraaltjes, aboutmedia, and hardewaarheid. In addition, sources that devote a lot of attention to conspiracy theories include, among others, Nine for news, Martin Vrijland, DLM Plus, Wanttoknow, and Ellaster.
There is certainly a growing need for fact-checking in the present times, compared with what was the case in the last five to ten years. Websites such as hoaxmelding.nl and nieuwscheckers.nl compile lists of instances of false news on social media (Rogers & Niederer, 2019). Investigative journalism platforms such as Investico (started in 2016) and FTM (started in 2010) were created to check the quantity of misinformation and fake news. Indeed, fact-checking has become a flourishing industry in recent years. Audiences have also proved to show a greater interest in fact-checks, more so during the Covid-19 crisis. Data journalism is also on the rise; two examples are 1) FTM and public broadcaster NOS have been working with LocalFocus, a company specialised in data visualisation, and 2) De Telegraaf has an editorial staff studying data relevant to various societal trends.
Some news media outlets have also been investing more time and staff in fact-checking. For instance, nu.nl has hired an extra full-time equivalent for that purpose. This is not the practice at NOS, where specific fact-checking is, more often than not, carried out by individual journalists. Generally speaking, content on social media is seen as a barometer but not as a main news source. Algorithmic tools are not yet in use, except for screening online comments (still in beta testing at nu.nl). Some news media platforms such as Twentsche Courant Tubantia do not allow comments on their own website, but use Facebook as a moderating tool for online comments. Filtering out comments that are racist, promote violence, and so forth can be categorised as fact-checking, according to Huub Evers. In addition, the public broadcaster has been checking facts with the help of the University of Leiden. Training is provided on how to identify manipulated images or, for instance, on data scraping. The Association of Investigative Journalists (VVOJ) is taking the lead in providing relevant training.
