‘In Fact’, which will go live in April, seeks to expose the worst abuses of the truth, from political spin to downright lies that have come to play such a major force in the media, politics and the web, say the publishers.
Using debunker news articles, quizzes, fact boxes and long-read explainers of the key issues, from immigration to immunology, its mission is to set the record straight and make a stand against the growing fake news phenomenon.
A new channel of independent.co.uk, it will make the most of the title’s off-platform reach to take the fight against all things fake to the key battleground: social media. You will be able to follow In Fact at facebook.com/indyinfact and on Twitter @IndyInFact.
The newsbrand is also celebrating significant growth since its move to digital only in March last year, with digital audiences up 71% year on year to 96.5 million global unique browsers per month, and up 88% to 5.45 million daily uniques, say the publishers.
The Independent is further looking to develop its international footprint, adding to its 100-strong global team with recent hires in Washington and New York, and with appointments in India and Brussels to follow alongside London.
Christian Broughton, Editor, The Independent, said: “Fake news can mean many things, from spin to outright lies and, in a certain world leader’s vocabulary, perfectly correct information that makes him look bad. Whichever way you define it, fake news is bad news. It propagates ignorance and allows voters to be conned and manipulated. With its huge social media reach and reputation for independent assessment of the facts, The Independent is in a unique position to confront the phenomenon head-on. We’re calling on our readers and social media followers to help us on this one and flag any abuses of the truth they see – we’ll investigate as many of them as we can. It’s the natural next step after a year when we proved our doubters wrong and took The Independent to a position of global reach and influence.”
Jon O’Donnell, MD, ESI Commercial, said: “The decision we took a year ago to move The Independent digital only has allowed us to fully exploit the opportunities of digital publishing, in a truly significant year for global news. This agility and innovation has confirmed our position as a digital powerhouse, with commercial partners able to take advantage of our influential and passionate audiences. As the reputation of The Independent grows, so do the commercial opportunities, and we look forward to building on our profitability, working with partners to create campaigns with true impact.”
