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Jack Jenkins

1. Okay, hear me out: given the rise of protocol-based, decentralized social media (Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon) where you can follow people on *other* platforms…

…what if journalists created their own little nonprofit platform that, in addition to features, essentially functioned as verification?

The idea would echo how news wire services were built a century and a half ago, where outlets agreed going in together on shared stuff was a good idea.

2. In this instance, a nonprofit would run a platform compatible w/Bsky/Threads specifically for journalists it approves (more on this in a bit).

Any journalist approved to be on the platform would have a specific address attached to their handle (@ journonet or something better than that), and when folks RT it on Bsky or Threads, followers would know it’s coming from an industry-approved source.

3. The trick would be the verification process — who does it, who runs it, how does it function, etc. — but it could, in theory, make information sharing on social media less chaotic than it currently is.

The platform could also have great video support, built-in encrypted DMs for tips, etc.

But the platform wouldn’t be driven by growth, or making money, or making things go viral.

It would serve an industry function, and likely be boring in many ways.

And that would be the point.

@jackmjenkins

I remember when I first came to Mastodon I too asked if there was an instance that was vetting journalists who I could follow.

I love the idea that such an instance should have encrypted DM functionality for whistle blowing. Not everyone has the wherewithal to use Tor.

@jackmjenkins This is kind of what I thought the journa.host Mastodon instance would become

@zzz I think there’s clear overlap, but my suspicion the industry is just never going to invest in an instance that way.

I think running their own platform is more likely.

@islamoyankee @jackmjenkins @ntnsndr Yep! At @medlab we're about to start an Open Social Incubator.

Cc @ben

@ntnsndr @islamoyankee @ntnsndr @medlab @ben I’ve been trying to ship a similar idea for a while. I’m excited for the incubator and I’m trying to put together a space for open source technologists and newsrooms to collaborate.

@ben Amazing. I think this could be a really powerful offering.

@ben @ntnsndr I'm all about this. Never really left the journalist world.

@ntnsndr @islamoyankee @medlab @ben I think it is a great idea. A stack of tools appropriate for journalists. You could use single sign-on and a bunch of hosted tools.

One thing that reminded me of this was the whole Jeff Bezos "we" controversy. Unlike many other professionals, journalists have no guild-like certification system.

@jackmjenkins love the idea but given how few journalists quit Twitter once the little tyrant took it over, it doesn't seem like there's a significant appetite for actual, boring, verified news. Most just want to cover Trump and get clicks.

@jackmjenkins Maybe not (only) an own little nonprofit platform, but instances run by the publications or publishers for their staff. That would make verification simple. (And people can easily switch instances on Mastodon, if they need or like.) In Germany, eg, a well-known tech publisher (Heise) and a public TV station (ZDF) run their own instances.

@ujay68 I think evidence thus far suggests that while publications running their own instances would make a lot of sense, it’s unlikely to happen.

@jackmjenkins I’m really interested in how we love more infrastructure towards co-ops and federations. It would be great to do some thought exercises around how this works in different spaces like journalism, higher ed / universities, publishing, etc.

@jackmjenkins I brought that up a couple of years ago actually. Really? Since every message is signed, you are guaranteed that the user is correct

@jackmjenkins How would they make money? Journalists, like anyone else, have children to feed and mortgages to pay.

@TimWardCam this would be a nonprofit — it doesn’t make money by design.

It’s not a place for journalists to work — it’s a platform that would reach other platforms, and function as a verification tool (among other things).

It’s a tool, not a publication.

@jackmjenkins
Except journalists are not, as a rule, technologists. As evidence I give you the shockingly few journalists that were able to successfully navigate setting up an account on the Fediverse. 😂

@crispius that’s part of the idea! Since that isn’t happening, creating a small platform (that federates) that streamlines signups might help.

@jackmjenkins @jeffjarvis is anyone working on something like this?