Working in investigative journalism requires tackling a massive pile of information to unearth essential fragments that can expose hidden stories. Thus, the technology of web scraping has proven to be an important asset for journalists to unveil a spectrum of issues, including monitoring extremist groups or potential cases of discrimination, human trafficking across public social media platforms and forums, exposing government corruption via public records and official statements, and many more.
We're excited to share that Oxylabs' pro bono initiative "Project 4beta" has teamed up with Luis Assardo, OSINT researcher, data-investigative journalist, and founder of Confirmado, a Guatemalan project to fight disinformation.
About Confirmado
Founded in 2018, Confirmado is known for its commitment to tackling misinformation in Guatemala and reporting on topics such as troll factories, hate speech, radicalization, and fact-checking.
Besides the work and research for Confirmado, Luis Assardo focuses on manipulation in electoral processes, paid disinformation campaigns, and corruption and education efforts. He also works with Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Holistic Protection Collective (HPC), and other Human Rights Organizations.
Partnership goals
Through 4beta, Confirmado will receive access to Oxylabs' cutting-edge web scraping solutions. This collaboration will empower Confirmado to enhance its fact-checking capabilities, ensuring more accurate and timely information reaches the public, ultimately contributing to a more informed society.
Research disinformation in some countries is more difficult because of the lack of access to tools. Our work focuses on under-researched countries, and now Oxylabs is one of our top tools for doing OSINT and allowing us to understand the data we have collected. A powerful tool that gives access to data and analyzes it properly.
Luis Assardo, Founder of Confirmado
Invitation
Many valuable sources of information are available online but are not always accessible or require a long time to collect. Web scraping lets journalists automate the process of gathering large amounts of data quickly and save time compared to manual data collection methods. At Oxylabs, we understand the value the technology can deliver to journalists fighting against disinformation, and we extend the invitation to other journalists, organizations, and academia to join "Project 4beta" and get free access to Oxylabs' web intelligence collection solutions.
About the author
Gabija Birgile
Senior PR Manager
Gabija Birgile is a Senior PR Manager at Oxylabs. After working in a PR agency and juggling various projects for quite some time, she wanted to try a role in the tech industry. Making a positive impact with her work was always on top of her mind, so managing "Project 4β" pro bono partnerships now definitely does the job. If you have a project in mind, drop her a message at 4beta@oxylabs.io.
All information on Oxylabs Blog is provided on an "as is" basis and for informational purposes only. We make no representation and disclaim all liability with respect to your use of any information contained on Oxylabs Blog or any third-party websites that may be linked therein. Before engaging in scraping activities of any kind you should consult your legal advisors and carefully read the particular website's terms of service or receive a scraping license.
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