NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Storyful and Moat announced today the launch of a new initiative aimed at combatting the spread of fake and extremist content. The Open Brand Safety (OBS) framework will track web domains and video URLs identified as purveyors of intentional misinformation with the aim of protecting brand content. The project will be the first of several steps toward building a broader system to help brands, agencies and platforms make smart decisions about where to place their advertising.
Working in partnership with the CUNY School of Journalism, the two technology companies will establish a database of dangerous domain names and track the evolution and spread of misinformation and extremism. The OBS framework will evolve to flag signals of both vice and virtue for marketers and advertisers, protecting brand content from fake or extremist news and platforms.
"Protecting premium storytelling is near and dear to Storyful and News Corp's heritage," Storyful Chief Executive Rahul Chopra said. "This initiative represents a prime opportunity to offer partners safe spaces for their stories. We have to help stop the faux, flawed and fraudulent content creators before they proliferate further."
"The social matters at play here demand that we collaborate with everyone who has data and professional resources to bring to bear," Moat Chief Technology Officer Dan Fichter said. "I am delighted that Storyful shares our view of the challenge and of our collective responsibility to act."
The OBS framework is launching in partnership with GroupM and Weber Shandwick, with plans to bring on additional firms in the advertising and marketing space.
“Marketers are navigating more uncertainty and complexity than ever before, requiring new and innovative approaches to keep brands safe,” said Chris Perry, Weber Shandwick’s Chief Digital Officer. “We’re focused on helping companies protect their brand reputation and navigate the complex media and information landscape. We look forward to working with Moat and Storyful to do our part.”
"Moat is a thought-leader in brand safety and now Storyful brings professional expertise and data into the equation that brands will immediately embrace,” said Rob Norman, Chief Digital Officer and Chairman North America of GroupM. “The combination gives me a great deal of hope."
As part of the initiative, CUNY is establishing an internal journalism team dedicated to identifying web domains that knowingly present fiction as news. The group will work with numerous outside partners in the academic and non-profit worlds with expertise in independent fact-checking and studying extremism online.
"My long-term hope is Storyful and Moat will support a flight to quality, helping advertisers and platforms not only avoid fraudulent content but support credible and trustworthy media," said Jeff Jarvis, who directs CUNY's Tow-Knight Center. "As a first effort of our new News Integrity Initiative, we are eager to partner with Storyful, Moat and leaders in media and technology in this important work."
The platform will be open-source and available to brands and marketers. For more information on acquiring the product, please contact sales@storyful.com and brandsafety@moat.com.
About Storyful
Storyful, a division of News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS, NWSA; ASX:NWS, NWSLV), is the world leader in discovering, verifying and acquiring the compelling and relevant user-generated video our partners need to tell stories that matter to their audiences. Storyful combines world class journalism with industry-leading technology to discover, verify and acquire the original content and provide the on-the-ground sources news and media organizations need to tell the stories that matter to their audience.
About News Corp
News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS, NWSA; ASX:NWS, NWSLV) is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content to consumers throughout the world. The company comprises businesses across a range of media, including: news and information services, book publishing, digital real estate services, and cable network programming and pay-TV distribution in Australia. Headquartered in New York, the activities of News Corp are conducted primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. More information: http://www.newscorp.com.
About Moat
Moat is a New York-based SaaS analytics company focused on building products for brand advertisers and premium publishers. Their offerings include Moat Analytics, an attention measurement platform that provides analytics and insights on ad campaigns and website inventory for publishers and advertisers, and Moat Pro, a real-time ad intelligence platform for marketers, publishers, and agencies. Moat is the first company to be accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) to measure viewable ad impressions across online display, video, and mobile (web and in-app). The company was founded by Jonah Goodhart, Noah Goodhart and Michael Walrath. The serial entrepreneurs had previously partnered to launch Right Media, which was acquired by Yahoo! in 2007. For more information on Moat, please visit http://www.moat.com.
The platform will be open-source and available to brands and marketers. For more information on acquiring the product, please contact press@storyful.com and brandsafety@moat.com.
