After watching the Hunter Biden story unfold yesterday, we've pulled together a thread of resources for journalists & newsrooms thinking about covering these events, as we suspect conversations will continue and there is the potential threat that more materials will emerge.

In this thread, disinformation researcher @RidT examines materials from @nypost's Oct 14 story and points out reasons we should be skeptical of their authenticity, including file formats, metadata and the suspect way in which the materials surfaced: https://twitter.com/RidT/status/1316363540421316609

His advice to the media: verify every detail when the data is released in such a suspicious manner, and tell readers about the possibility this is part of a disinformation campaign. https://twitter.com/RidT/status/1316371802482970626

Stanford's @janinezacharia and @GrottoAndrew created 10 newsroom guidelines for reporting on propaganda: https://fsi-live.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/playbook_10_guidelines_-_how_to_report_responsibly_on_hacks_disinformation.pdf

Key tips from Zacharia and Grotto:

Be aware journalists are targeted adversaries. Ask yourself if you're being used to amplify disinfo or hacks

Be explicit in your story about the content's origins and what you know about the source's motivations

Avoid linking to disinfo

There are questions about who organized this operation and how. Absent clear evidence, avoid making claims about responsibility (incl foreign interference claims). Don't assume "Russian disinformation" or "hack by anti-China agents." Motivation for this operation =/= they did it

Because attribution (origin) stories for disinfo campaigns can be tricky to write and often require digital forensics knowledge, First Draft and @stanfordio created resources (tipsheets, a glossary and case studies) to help journalists cover these stories: https://attribution.news/ 

If a source approaches your newsroom with evidence that XYZ entity was involved, research the source's track record for accuracy. Even if they have a good record, run the evidence by experts/experienced colleagues before printing the claims