Wikipedia founder tackles fake news with online news platform

The founder of online encyclopaedia Wikipedia has announced plans for a crowd-funded news website offering stories by journalists and volunteers working together, an initiative he hopes will counter the spread of fake news.

Jimmy Wales said the new platform, Wikitribune, would be free to read and carry no advertising, instead relying on supporters to fund it, while the accuracy of its articles would be easily verifiable as source material would be published.

Unlike traditional media outlets, Wikitribune is a hybrid model. It will use both experienced, paid journalists and ask the community members to help fact check and verify stories.

Charlie Beckett, professor at the London School of Economics, welcomed Wikitribune as an attempt to tackle a lack of public trust in mainstream media, but questioned whether it would have the scale and reach to stem the flow of fake news.

TRT World's Sara Firth has more.