WuvDay, the Italian-based platform built to verify news content captured via smartphone, is helping young journalists from around the world report from the XIX World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.
The event is taking place in Monterrey and Nuevo Léon, Mexico, from September 18-21, with WuvDay as an official partner working with the Young Journalist Club (not to be confused with an Iranian agency of a similar name). WuvDay’s mantra is to allow users to take photos or video directly through the app on an iPhone or Android phone, where any media organization can pay to use it in their own coverage — knowing the exact time, location, and context of the image or clip.
The Young Journalist Club is an initiative of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates under its “Leading by Example” youth program aimed at aspiring journalists interested in covering issues related to peace and human rights. Those selected come from various universities across the globe and work as volunteers, all of whom must have an education or profession in journalism, press services, or social media. In this case, these journalists will have full accreditation to the Summit but particularly focus on covering side events rather than just the main stage.
Their photos, videos, and short articles will post to a “certified institutional profile” set up on WuvDay. The idea is to increase visibility to those side events, which may not get attention or coverage from established and independent media outlets and broadcasters. Those same outlets can acquire and use the captured content through WuvDay, all of which is certified for authenticity.
Only the young journalists who are part of the program will have the ability to post content to the specific profile set up on the platform. They are encouraged to seek out whatever interesting stories and angles they can find at the Summit to ensure more comprehensive coverage beyond speeches and interviews everyone sees from the main stage.
That also includes one-on-one interviews and panels. Equipped only with smartphones and limited mobile photography gear, these aspiring reporters will do their best to document what’s happening on the ground. WuvDay’s platform, which is based on fighting against misinformation and manipulated images, verifies everything posted.
WuvDay Project Manager Giuseppe Carapellese tells PetaPixel that the platform has no influence over what the young journalists choose to cover. He says part of the initiative is also about teaching them how to report on-site without sophisticated equipment to tell a story. The phones are also their own personal devices, so they’re not given anything else to do their job.