April 29-30: Journalists continue to maintain accountability during COVID-19 pandemic

People can in join in and thank journalists using the #thankyoujournalists hashtag

Journalists are doing better than MPs at holding ministers to account over Covid-19 according to poll

April 29: According to the Express and Star, journalists are doing a better job than Members of Parliament in the UK at holding government officials accountable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey of more than 1,000 British adults by Ipsos Mori found 43% thought reporters asking questions at the daily Downing Street press conference were doing a good job.

Newspaper reporters were said to be doing a good job by 30% but a bad job also by 30% of respondents.

Ben Page, chief executive of Ipsos Mori, said: “Despite recent controversy about journalists challenging Government spokespeople, by 43% to 28% the public say they are doing a good job in holding the Government to account.

Ipsos MORI is a market research company in the United Kingdom that conduct surveys for a wide range of major organisations and other market research agencies

Reuters launches effort to say thank you to journalists around the world

April 30: Reuters reported on Wednesday the launching of a project called #ThankYouJournalists, which has received social media support with 13 million Twitter impressions in its first days.

Reuters highlighted the reporters, photographers, videographers, and editors who are continuing to report the news, paying tribute to those who uncover the truth and bring the facts to readers —whether from out in the field or behind the scenes.

The initiative encourages media organizations, journalists, readers and the wider industry to express their gratitude using the hashtag #thankyoujournalists.

Organizations including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press have shared their thanks among the campaign as well.

Fighting misinformation during a pandemic

April 30: The Columbia Journalism Review reported the emphasis on fighting misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic with crucial skills including fact-checking and verification.

Journalist's fact-checking skills have been put to the test by combating misinformation including drinking bleach or taking megadoses of vitamin C can cure the virus, or how the rollout of 5G cell network technology caused COVID-19.

CJR‘s Galley created a discussion platform to speak with several experts in fact-checking and verification.

Craig Silverman, Buzzfeed media editor and one of the panelists' speakers, talked about the importance for journalists to embrace complexity and to resist instinctively grasping for the obvious explanation.

The discussion panel also talked about how misinformation can be spread through training algorithms, fallibility, and the “Overton Window.”