Repustar Enlists The Associated Press (AP) as a Contributor to Its Novel Fact Sharing Platform
\xe2\x80\x9cBut quality journalism, together with novel approaches to connecting with audiences, has the power to bring facts to the fore.
Repustar, a novel fact dissemination platform dedicated to promoting factuality and authoritative sourcing, announced today that The Associated Press (AP) will become a contributor.
Social media users can tag Repustar in posts they wish to question or verify, and receive short, credible summaries called “Fact Briefs” in reply. Fact Briefs are contributed by non-partisan research and news organizations on the platform, to address common claims across a range of newsworthy topics and designed to counter misinformation swirling on social media. Repustar uses proprietary AI-powered tools to identify and supply these Fact Briefs across social networks when needed by users.
“Misleading content that is designed to attract attention and sell ideology is crowding out facts online and leaving the public disoriented,” said Chandran Sankaran, Repustar’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Repustar seeks to return facts to firmer ground with a new and engaging platform for contributors who can meet the public need for credible documented sources, and clear, calm explanations. Few organizations know how to do this better than AP, and we are excited to welcome this global news organization as an early contributor to Repustar.”
“AP has a long history of fact-checking and has provided accurate and unbiased news for 175 years,” said Tom Januszewski, Vice President of Partnerships at AP. “We are constantly seeking new ways to advance the power of facts. This collaboration with Repustar is an opportunity to help readers separate fact from fiction when they encounter confusing claims on social media.”
"False and misleading information is rampant online," said Amanda Barrett, AP deputy managing editor for digital news, news coordination and talent. “But quality journalism, together with novel approaches to connecting with audiences, has the power to bring facts to the fore. AP’s journalists are proud to play a big role in helping people find the news amid the noise.”
In early testing in the United States, Repustar has published more than 1,000 Fact Briefs on its platform. These Fact Briefs address questions on a wide range of topics that are subject to online misinformation, such as COVID, climate trends, protests and tax policies.
“We have strived to make Fact Briefs simple, quick and accessible sources of reliable information for people, while preserving journalistic rigor in their creation,” said John Marcom, Founding Editorial Director at Repustar. “We share the values and standards that AP sets for journalistic authority, accuracy and fairness, and we are fortunate to be able to draw on their expertise as the reach and impact of Repustar expands.”
Twitter users can easily join the growing community of fans of factual information by following @FactSparrow. FactSparrow is an AI-powered, friendly bot that fetches Fact Briefs from AP and other contributors on the Repustar platform and delivers them right into live conversations. Users can simply mention the bot account whenever they encounter a claim about the news for which they need factual support, and they will receive reliable information from documented, credible sources. FactSparrow is live on Twitter and will be made available on other platforms later in 2021.
About Repustar
Founded in 2019, Repustar is a novel fact publishing and dissemination platform that combines the rigor of professional journalism with the tools of data science and AI. Repustar enables non-partisan, evidence-based organizations to publish short, credibly sourced Fact Briefs that are responsive to common claims encountered online. The platform then gives consumers and content professionals access to these facts when and where they most need it. With the proliferation of misinformation that has left people disoriented and uncertain about what to believe and whom to trust, Repustar seeks to enable a fact-forward world. The company is organized as a Benefit Corporation and is led by seasoned executives with experience in technology company building and news media operations. For more information, visit Repustar.com.
About AP
The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day. Online: www.ap.org
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