Dili, 15 December 2020 - UNDP and Facebook held a half-day training for journalists and editors as part of their efforts to support the news ecosystem in Timor-Leste. During the session, over 40 participants learned about best practices for journalists on Facebook and the different tools available on the platform. They also learned about Facebook’s safety and misinformation policy that can better equip them in providing access to accurate and timely information for people in Timor-Leste. 

 “Facebook has become an essential platform for people in Timor-Leste to connect with each other and keep up with what's going on around them. And that’s why we are committed to fostering an informed community and supporting UNDP and their work to strengthen news literacy efforts in Timor-Leste,” said Ruben Hattari, Head of Public Policy for Indonesia and Timor-Leste at Facebook. 

 “Independent, diverse, and professional media and journalism are the foundation of good governance, democracy, and sustainable development. It is even more so in the era of the Internet and Social Media. UNDP is pleased to collaborate with Facebook to provide this timely and relevant training for journalists in Timor-Leste on good practices of online journalism, useful tools and tips for online safety as well as how to combat misinformation.” said Youngchan Kim, Head of Democratic Governance Unit, UNDP Timor-Leste.

 In addition, participants also learned about Facebook’s approach to combating misinformation on the platform. Since 2016 Facebook has used a strategy called “remove, reduce, and inform” to manage problematic content across Facebook’s products and services. This involves removing content that violates Facebook’s policies, reducing the spread of problematic content that does not observe Facebook’s policies and providing people with additional information so they can choose what to click on, read or share. This strategy applies all year-round