The Storyful Podcast

We’ve all become aware of the role that social media has played in political discourse in recent years. The political and social reverberations of information and disinformation posted on social platforms have rocked the world, shaken up journalism forever, and, in the eyes of many analysts, legislators and investigators, posed a threat to the democratic process as we know it. Since Storyful was founded, our focus has been on the sourcing and verification of usable content from open...

In recent years, social media challenge videos have become increasingly popular. From the good natured ice bucket and ‘in my feelings’ challenges to the more dangerous neknomination and cinnamon snorting challenges - online trends have grown in many forms. It’s easy to witness the growth of these trends and roll our eyes at it all. But the ever-tempting hunt for likes and shares has prompted social media users to take greater risks online, with the challenges becoming wilder and...

The 2018 World Cup begins in Russia this week, with football at last having a chance to take center stage after a run-up dogged by accusations of bribery, geopolitical tensions, concerns about racism and homophobia in Russian football, worries about hooliganism, and problems with freedom of the press. For millions of people, the World Cup is remembered for epic highs and lows from across the years and decades: Hurst's hat-trick, Maradona's Hand of God, Gazza's tears, Baggio's penalty miss,...

Every year, mobile content creators gather in the Irish city of Galway for Mojofest, a conference dedicated to the rapidly evolving world of mobile journalism. As always, Storyful was there, and in this short Mojo Bites series we’re bringing some of the most interesting conversations to you. And for our final Mojo Bite you’ll hear from Sarah Htett, who trains people in Lebanese refugee camps … But first, here’s Bjorn Staschen, who runs the Next News Lab with Germany’s NDR television.

Every year, mobile content creators gather in the Irish city of Galway for Mojofest, a conference dedicated to the rapidly evolving world of mobile journalism. As always, Storyful was there, and in this short Mojo Bites series we’re bringing some of the most interesting conversations to you. In the third of our Mojo Bites series, you’ll hear Storyful’s Rhona Tarrant speaking with Rob Freijssen, the editor-in-chief at the public local broadcaster OPEN Rotterdam, a Dutch news outlet using...

In the second of our Mojo Bites series, we discuss the rise of the social media influencer and vlogger. In 2017, the social media influencer market was valued at $2 billion, but this is set to reach a whopping $10 billion by 2020, according to Ad Week. Love it or hate it, this market is growing and it’s here to stay. Large brands have recognized the value of linking in with successful vloggers, influencers and celebrities to harness the power of their large following. So, does this spell the...

Every year, mobile content creators gather in the Irish city of Galway for Mojofest, a conference dedicated to the rapidly evolving world of mobile journalism. As always, Storyful was there, and in this short Mojo Bites series we’re bringing some of the most interesting conversations to you. First Bite: Has Stories Killed the Newsfeed? One of the panels at this year’s conference asked if Instagram had finally taken Snapchat’s crown as the most influential platform in that market. What...

Voters in Indonesia will shortly go to the polls in local elections that are seen as an indicator of the political mood ahead of next year’s presidential elections. It’s a new democracy, just 20 years old, having been transformed in 1998, when President Muhammad Suharto resigned after 32 years in power, amid rioting and violence. The current government is headed by President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi - a moderate reformer who was elected in 2014\. Indonesia is dealing with some very...

The Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, recognising the equal right to life of the unborn and the mother, was passed by referendum in 1983 after a contentious campaign. While abortion had been illegal in Ireland since the mid-19th century, the amendment meant that any future legislation could only permit abortion in Ireland in limited circumstances, where the life of the mother was at risk. The amendment has proven to be one of the most controversial legal measures in the history of...

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg testified in April before a joint hearing in Congress in the US, defending his company’s use of data, in the wake of a recent scandal. It had emerged that a private consulting firm used personal information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without permission to build a system that could target US voters with political advertisements. The Cambridge Analytica scandal brought up a lot of questions about how much information we share with social media...

The ancient Iraqi city of Mosul has a history spanning thousands of years. It operated for centuries as a trading hub, where all colors and creeds made their mark. It has, over centuries, seen its share of invaders, and of bloodshed. Until recently, Mosul had borne the scars of its past while maintaining its beauty and antiquity. But then, it fell to Islamic State, in June 2014, when the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stood at the city’s al-Nuri mosque and declared the creation of a...

Where does the traditional news media fit in a world in which social networks increasingly filter and edit what is viewed by the public? In this episode, we discuss how social networks are coming under increasing pressure to police the content on their platforms, specifically offensive videos involving violence and sexual abuse. We examine the ways in which Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are attempting to moderate what we can view on their platforms. Rachel Blundy, a journalist at Storyful's...

In an ever-changing media landscape, what can brands do to minimize their risks and manage their reputations online? In this episode of the Storyful podcast we discuss the challenges global brands face on social media, and the new ways brands are analyzing social data in real-time to manage their online reputations. Della Kilroy is joined by her Storyful colleagues Stefanie Baum, Senior Creative Content Strategist; Carley Yabroudy, Creative Production Manager; Dara Healy, Director of...

This month saw a new wave of protests in Iran, as well as the arrest of hundreds of journalists and activists. Our first podcast of 2018 discusses the efforts by the Iranian government to limit the spread of information by restricting access to several social media platforms during the demonstrations. We also examine the challenges and risks for journalists on the ground, and the efforts by NGOs and media outlets to verify and report on these stories. Della Kilroy is joined by Storyful...

2017 was a year like no other for many working in the news industry. From increased tensions with North Korea, to Donald Trump taking office, to a string of deadly terror attacks, the last 12 months seemed more dramatic than many other years in recent memory. In this, the final podcast of the year, Storyful journalists and editors take a look back at the news, viral and video trends that made a mark in 2017.

Efforts to undermine the role of news organizations in civil society and an abundance of fake news filtering into our social streams has meant trust in journalism is at an all-time low. This episode of the Storyful podcast explores ways in which journalists are collaborating to promote more transparency in their news coverage. Della Kilroy is joined by Joe Galvin, Director of News with Storyful; Sally Lehrman, Director of The Trust Project, a consortium aiming to build a more trustworthy and...

The long fight of Australia's LGBT community for marriage rights may soon be at an end. On November 15, Australians will learn the outcome of a Marriage Law Postal Survey, following three months of intensive campaigning from both sides of the debate. Opinion polls suggest most Australians will give a positive answer to the question they were sent – "Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?" If that is the case, the government has committed to introducing a bill on...

Storyful talks with Indian journalists and activists who have taken a stand against bogus rumors, hoaxes and propaganda being shared on social media. This episode of the Storyful Podcast looks at how they are holding politicians, celebrities and media organizations to account and the deadly impact misinformation and disinformation spread on social media can have in India. Iain Martin talks to Jency Jacob of Boomlive.in, Pankaj Jain of SMHoaxSlayer and Pratik Sinha of Altnews.in #podcast...

In the aftermath of the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, online hoaxes and unverified rumors spread widely online. Many of these featured prominently in Google searches, on YouTube, and on Google News. More were shared on Facebook pages, some of them verified by the platform. This episode of the Storyful Podcast examines the ways in which Google and Facebook amplified the reach of false reports and rumors, and asks whether they need to be more cognizant of their responsibilities, now that...

Thanks to the smart phone and social media, video recorded by eyewitnesses has become a central aspect to news reporting. Video posted on social of a newsworthy event will inevitably draw a slew of use requests from individual reporters and media organizations. On the one hand, it's good to see media engaging with sources; on the other, a mass of repetitive tweets bombarding an individual is not an edifying spectacle, or an enjoyable one for the social media user involved. So, what is the...