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# The critical need for verification skills in modern journalism education
- URL: https://onemanandhisblog.com/2018/11/the-critical-need-for-verification-skills-in-modern-journalism-education/
- Published: 2018-11-15T14:32:32.000Z
- Updated: 2024-10-12T08:29:52.000Z
- Description: A talk by the BBC's Mark Frankel reinforced the critical need for more verification skills in modern newsrooms
- Author: Adam Tinworth
- Tags: social media verification, mark frankel, City St George’s, journalism education

After my weekly lecture to the MA Interactive Journalism students at City, University of London last night, I quietly gatecrashed a talk by Mark Frankel, the out-going [social media editor of BBC News](https://twitter.com/markfrankel29?ref=onemanandhisblog.com), in the main journalism department. It was a good, interesting and practical talk, as you can see from some of the tweets the Interhacktives shared during it:

> “Journalists getting their facts wrong is NOT fake news. Journalists DELIBERATELY getting their facts wrong is fake news,” he said.
> 
> — Emily Jo Garber (@emilyjogarber) [November 14, 2018](https://twitter.com/emilyjogarber/status/1062771000792760321?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

> Mark suggests to follow [@CraigSilverman](https://twitter.com/CraigSilverman?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) [@newsthump](https://twitter.com/newsthump?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com)   
> And read what Hannah Arendt had to say about politics...👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼  
> But NEVER use [https://t.co/Lxuoc95SKs](https://t.co/Lxuoc95SKs?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) !!! 😂😂😂 🔞🔞🔞[#journotips](https://twitter.com/hashtag/journotips?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) [#cityjtips](https://twitter.com/hashtag/cityjtips?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com)
> 
> — Elisabetta (@eleesabetter) [November 14, 2018](https://twitter.com/eleesabetter/status/1062775372218015746?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

> His top 6 tips for verification on Twitter [pic.twitter.com/X52Ai0STwk](https://t.co/X52Ai0STwk?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)
> 
> — Emily Jo Garber (@emilyjogarber) [November 14, 2018](https://twitter.com/emilyjogarber/status/1062776299251556355?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

However, the end of the session, where Mark shared [this video from the BBC really](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-45599973/cameroon-atrocity-finding-the-soldiers-who-killed-this-woman?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) had a strong impact on me. Warning: there are distressing scenes and events in the video.

The first was a reminder of how much more emotional violence against children makes me since I had children of my own. The second, more professional, impact was just how important a skill desk-based social media verification has become in major newsrooms — and how we're probably still under-invested in it. How many newsrooms actually have the capability to do what the BBC did here? 

How much more could we, as journalism educators, be doing to support the development of those skills? 

- Poynter has a good article on the [details of the verification the BBC did here](https://www.poynter.org/news/how-bbc-verified-video-grisly-murder-cameroon-step-step?ref=onemanandhisblog.com).