Bridgit.io, a bookmarking platform for building and curating knowledge led by Daveed Benjamin FRSA, is partnering with Fair Vote UK to test a new model of fact-checking in the upcoming UK elections.
Fair Vote UK was set up to tackle the issue of data misuse, voter manipulation and lack of transparency in elections. In 2019, they ran a cross-party inquiry seeking views on the most urgent needs to safeguard elections and democracy in the digital age. The final report recommended the creation of a non-governmental fact checking hub for voters to reference during elections.
The Fair Play Fact Check project is the beta test of a collaborative, citizen-led, non-partisan fact checking infrastructure for the UK's 2021 May Elections, which will likely see over 20 million people voting in national elections in Wales and Scotland, local elections across England and the mayoral election in London.
Fair Vote UK will host a series of bridging competitions on Bridgit.io surrounding claims made by political publications, newspapers, voices on social media, and party manifestos. Starting from a specific page (e.g. the party manifesto), participants select a specific claim to work with, and then search for contradictory or supporting evidence. This evidence is then connected, or ‘bridged’ directly to the claim, along with a brief explanation.
A bridges overlay via the Bridget.io browser extension, will allow anyone to access and vote on the bridges they deem to be the best, enabling the user to participate in the curation of knowledge. From the shortlist voted on by the overlay’s users, judges from across civil society will select the best of the best.
Register to learn more about how you can be a part of the future of fact checking.
For more information, please visit Fairvote.uk or Bridgit.io