Industry leaders are launching a major new campaign to highlight the value of “real news” by exposing attempts to ape mainstream, trusted platforms.

The Society of Editors has written to news chiefs across the UK asking them for help in calling out misleading and partisan news operations on their patches.

The “campaign for real news” opens another front in the battle against fake news outlets which, the SoE claims, are restricting the ability of legitimate news providers to be heard by the public.

It is particularly targeting the use of fake newspapers by political parties and councils, as well as police press offices that attempt to compete with mainstream media by “becoming their own publishers.”

Writing to editors across the UK, the Society’s executive director Ian Murray said: “As you will be aware, during 2019 and, in the first few weeks of 2020, we have witnessed a number of attempts to restrict the public’s right to know.

“From well-documented issues around access to central government, ongoing difficulties in some regions with police and media relations and a proliferation of so-called party-political ‘fake newspapers’ and false news websites, all of these factors work together to impinge on the ability of legitimate news platforms to keep the public informed.”

The Society said attempts by political parties and public bodies to circumnavigate the mainstream media in favour of acting as their own publisher meant that the public was at risk of being misled.

Said Ian: “While we recognise that the traditional means of news reporting have changed dramatically in recent years, we are increasingly alarmed by reports of taxpayer-funded money being spent on attempts by public bodies and others to ape the work of mainstream media in acting as their own unbalanced and unchecked publishers.”

“It is not the job of official communications departments to circumvent the media in favour of pushing out their own often one-sided ‘news’ via fake newspapers and social media channels.

“The Society strongly believes that political parties, local councils and police press offices should not be in competition with the mainstream media. It is the job of trained journalists to scrutinise those in power on behalf of the public and, increasingly, we are hearing reports that the public is at risk of being denied information of legitimate public interest by officials who wish to control what is reported and by whom.”

While acknowledging that the issue of local authorities and public bodies producing papers, magazines and websites that appear to ape independent news organisations is not new, the SoE said it still needed tackling.

“Local authorities that produce their own magazines where no balance is provided continue to deny communities a true voice as well as starving independent papers and news sites of both information and advertising revenue,” added Ian.

“The Society would welcome the assistance of anyone who values the role of an independent and trusted media in turning a spotlight on issues where they arise so that we can collectively act.

“For our part, the Society intends to expose attempts to control what is reported and by whom and we will highlight these fake publications and platforms. Where identified, we will call on government – both local and national – to act.”

* HTFP is also committed to exposing fake news platforms masquerading as local news outlets, so if you know of any operating on your local patch, let us know via [email protected].