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Storyful
Storyful
from Wikipedia

Storyful (stylized as storyful.) is a social media intelligence company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland that is a subsidiary of News Corp, offering services such as social news monitoring, video licensing, and reputation risk management tools for corporate clients.[1] The startup was launched as the first social media newswire, a content aggregator, verifying news sources and online content[2] in Dublin in 2010 by Mark Little, a former journalist with RTÉ News.[2] Storyful was acquired by News Corp in 2013 for USD$25 million.[3]

Key Information

Background

[edit]

Mark Little, who had worked as a television journalist for RTÉ One,[2] founded startup Storyful in Dublin, Ireland, in 2010,[2][4] as a service that "verified news sources and online content".[2] According to Nieman Lab, Storyful had a reputation for content aggregation as a social news agency—finding, verifying, distributing, licensing, and commercializing user-generated content, social media and online content from social networking services, including videos about stories in the news, such as the Syrian Civil War, Arab Spring protests, as well as "smaller viral moments".[3][5][6] Storyful aimed to provide authority through its verification and monitoring tools while providing authenticity through user-generated content.[5]

On 20 December 2013 News Corp purchased Storyful for US$25 million[3] and opened a New York office in the same building as Fox News' main studios.[7]

Little left Storyful in 2015 and Gavin Sheridan, Storyful's director of innovation left in 2014.[8]

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said that through Storyful, News Corp would "define the opportunities that the digital landscape presents, rather than simply adapt to them."[3][5] After the acquisition, the company expanded its service to include "commercial and creative work".[6]

After Murdoch acquired the company, from 2014 through to February 2018, losses "swelled", requiring a series of cash injections from News Corp.[1] During that time the company expanded aggressively globally with a staff of about 200 worldwide up from about 30 in 2014.[1]

According to The Guardian, in 2016, journalists were encouraged by Storyful to use the social media monitoring software called Verify developed by Storyful. By installing Verify's web browser extension on their computers, Verify would inform the journalists when social media content had been "verified and cleared".[9] The Guardian revealed that through the Verify plugin, dozens of staff in four offices had access to the journalists browsing activity without them knowing. This data allowed Storyful to actively monitor its own clients' activities on social media and to "turn it into an internal feed" at Storyful that "updates in real time".[9]

In November 2018, when a video circulated by Infowars' Paul Joseph Watson appeared to prove that CNN's Jim Acosta's contact with a White House intern was a physical blow,[10] Storyful was able to prove that the 15-second-long clip had been doctored.[11][Notes 1]

According to a 21 January 2019 article in CNN Business, Rob McDonagh, the editor of Storyful's U.S. news team,[7] had proven that one of the viral videos that served as catalysts in the January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation at 18 January 2019 Indigenous Peoples March, was posted by a suspicious account, under the handle @2020fight.[12] McDonagh's team validates videos and posts before adding them to their "digest", distinguishing true stories from those that are not.[7][Notes 2] Storyful attempts to validate each post or video before including it in its digest. McDonagh reviewed previous content from @2020fight's account, and found it suspicious because it had a high follower count, a "highly polarized and yet inconsistent political messaging", an "unusually high rate of tweets", and "the use of someone else's image in the profile photo." reporter Donie O'Sullivan said that the @2020fight video that had been posted on 18 January, which had 2.5 million views by 22 January, was the one that "helped frame the news cycle".[12] Currently the website offers a service by which video can be commercially brokered.[citation needed]

Services

[edit]

Services include a newswire service—one of their "core pillars"—and social news monitoring. By February 2018, Storyful was developing "risk and reputation monitoring" services through which they would source and verify social news, fact-checking it and contextualising it for corporate clients.[1] They were "developing tech tools" to "explore obscure or closed networks" for their intelligence team.[1] can use to explore obscure or closed networks. They "track deviations in social conversations around brands and organisations and catch potential risks before they blow up. Like an alerts system."[1] The company "released a re-booted version of its Newswire platform in 2018. According to FORA, Storyful was developing new tools to combat fake news online.[2]

Clients

[edit]

When Storyful was acquired by News Corp in 2013, the company already had the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, New York Times, YouTube, ITN and Channel 4 News as clients.[13] By 2018 their clients included CNN, ABC News and Fox News, The New York Times, the Washington Post, in the United States, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and all of News Corp’s own publications.[9] Most of their "reputation-conscious corporate customers" clients prefer to not be named.[1]

Notes

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References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Storyful is a Dublin-based agency specializing in the verification, licensing, and distribution of for news organizations and media outlets. Founded in 2010 by Irish Mark Little as the world's first newswire, the company emerged in response to the growing role of platforms like during events such as the Arab Spring, enabling faster news sourcing and content authentication. Acquired by in December 2013 for approximately $25 million, Storyful operates as a standalone , leveraging proprietary technology and journalistic expertise to analyze trends, user networks, and content authenticity across digital ecosystems. Its services extend to providing verified videos, intelligence reports, and tools for broadcasters, publishers, and enterprises seeking reliable insights from social platforms. Storyful's model emphasizes empirical verification processes, distinguishing it from uncurated social feeds by prioritizing causal evidence of content origin and over unsubstantiated claims prevalent in raw online data. The agency's defining achievement lies in pioneering scalable journalism, which has supported global newsrooms in integrating authenticated user content amid the proliferation of digital , though its reliance on News Corp's has raised questions about potential editorial alignments in content selection—concerns unaddressed in primary operational disclosures but inherent to corporate media structures.

History

Founding and Inception

Storyful was founded in , , in 2010 by Mark Little, an award-winning television journalist who had previously worked for the Irish national broadcaster . Little left in December 2009 after a career covering international events, including the 2009 Iranian election protests where played a prominent role in disseminating information. The company emerged from Little's recognition of 's potential to transform by enabling rapid sourcing of from platforms like and . As the world's first social news agency tailored for the era, Storyful's inception focused on discovering, verifying, and licensing authentic content to news organizations unable to independently authenticate viral videos and images. This model addressed the challenges of unverified online material flooding traditional newsrooms, providing tools for faster, contextually enriched reporting. Little positioned the venture as a response to journalism's shift toward open, collaborative practices in an age of decentralized information flows. Initial operations emphasized human-led verification processes, drawing on journalistic expertise rather than automated systems.

Early Growth and Operations

Storyful commenced operations in , , shortly after its 2010 founding, establishing itself as a pioneer in sourcing and verifying from platforms such as and for professional news use. The company's core process involved a team of journalists and digital specialists conducting rapid of videos, s, and eyewitness accounts, employing methods including geolocation verification, metadata examination, cross-referencing with traditional sources, and reverse image searches to distinguish genuine material from hoaxes amid high-volume online noise. Early growth was driven by demand for authenticated social content during events, including protests and disasters, where traditional reporting lagged behind digital dissemination. Storyful licensed verified footage to news outlets, enabling them to incorporate credible multimedia into broadcasts and articles while mitigating risks of ; this model proved valuable as social media's role in events like the Arab Spring highlighted the need for specialized verification services. The startup, initially bootstrapped under founder Mark Little's leadership, expanded its Dublin-based team from a handful of core members to support increasing client queries, focusing operations on real-time monitoring via proprietary "heat maps" of traffic from trusted social accounts. By 2013, Storyful had solidified its niche, serving an array of international media clients and demonstrating scalability through initiatives like the Open Newsroom project, a collaborative Google+ community for crowdsourced verification launched in mid-2013 to enhance transparency in content checks. This period marked operational maturation, with the company handling thousands of daily leads and prioritizing ethical licensing agreements that compensated original creators, setting it apart from unverified aggregators. Such developments positioned Storyful for broader adoption, culminating in its appeal to global media conglomerates seeking to integrate into workflows.

Acquisition by News Corp

News Corp announced the acquisition of Storyful on December 20, 2013, marking its first purchase as a standalone entity following the June 2013 split from the former . The deal valued the Dublin-based company at approximately $25 million USD (equivalent to €18 million), paid in cash, and positioned Storyful to continue operations independently within 's structure. The acquisition aimed to bolster News Corp's capabilities in sourcing, verifying, and licensing user-generated content, particularly video, amid the rising demand for real-time digital distribution. Storyful, founded in 2010 by Mark Little, had established itself as a pioneer in authenticating material for media outlets, addressing challenges like and issues in an era of viral content proliferation. News Corp executives highlighted Storyful's technology and expertise as complementary to their portfolio, including properties like and , enabling expanded , video integration, and social verification services. Post-acquisition, Storyful retained its headquarters in Dublin and global teams, focusing on licensing deals with broadcasters and publishers while integrating its tools into News Corp's broader digital strategy. The move reflected a strategic pivot by traditional media conglomerates toward tech-driven content curation, though analysts noted potential synergies were tempered by News Corp's legacy print focus and the nascent state of social verification markets at the time. No significant regulatory hurdles were reported, and the transaction closed promptly, underscoring Storyful's appeal as a low-risk enhancement to News Corp's adaptation to online news ecosystems.

Services and Business Model

Content Sourcing and Verification

Storyful sources content primarily from platforms, including emerging channels like Telegram, by monitoring (UGC) such as videos, images, and eyewitness accounts related to and viral events. This process involves proactive discovery of raw footage uploaded by individuals, which is then evaluated for relevance to client needs in news outlets and media organizations. The agency prioritizes UGC that can shape news agendas, licensing verified material for immediate use while ensuring compliance with journalistic standards. Verification employs a multi-step combining human expertise from a global team of journalists with (OSINT) techniques and proprietary tools to authenticate content. Initial assessment includes a "digital footprint analysis" of the poster's account, examining posting history, linked profiles, and consistency to gauge credibility. Subsequent steps involve cross-referencing metadata, geolocation via tools like and , and corroboration with multiple independent sources to confirm location, timing, and . This rigorous 12-step protocol, which scrutinizes elements like source reliability and visual authenticity, aims to combat by rejecting unverified or manipulated material. Proprietary technology augments manual verification by automating detection of anomalies in visual content, such as AI-generated fakes, while human oversight ensures nuanced judgment on contextual accuracy. Storyful's approach has been integrated into industry resources, emphasizing that all UGC must be vetted before publication to maintain journalistic integrity, particularly amid rising volumes of unverified claims during events like conflicts. Clients receive not only authenticated assets but also metadata reports detailing the verification chain, enabling traceable .

Licensing and Distribution

Storyful secures licensing rights from content creators, primarily for user-generated videos, through non-exclusive agreements that permit the company to sub-license the material to media outlets while creators retain full ownership. Under these agreements, creators grant Storyful worldwide, royalty-free permissions to distribute and monetize the content via or republication by partners, with based on usage. More than 25,000 uploaders have participated in this process, submitting footage directly through platforms like Storyful Video for verification and potential licensing. Distribution occurs primarily through Storyful's global network of newsrooms, publishers, and production houses, facilitated by tools such as the Storyful Video marketplace launched in February 2020. Clients register on the platform to browse verified footage, select clips, and purchase licenses tailored to usage rights, such as short-term digital deployment or broadcast, with pricing varying by scope—for instance, approximately $2,000 for limited online use. The company emphasizes rapid delivery of cleared content to support breaking news cycles, including features like 24/7 journalist consultations for seamless integration into client workflows. This model positions Storyful as an , acquiring rights to viral or eyewitness content and reselling access to verified assets, which enables creators to earn from widespread media placement while mitigating legal risks for licensees through pre-negotiated clearances.

Strategic Intelligence and Analytics

Storyful's and Analytics services leverage data to deliver insights on reputational risks, industry trends, and online narratives for brands, media organizations, and businesses. These offerings combine proprietary technology with expert analysis to transform unstructured into actionable , enabling clients to anticipate opportunities and mitigate threats. Acquired by in 2013, this division has expanded Storyful's role beyond content verification into proactive monitoring and forecasting. The analytics process involves gathering vast amounts of data, applying to detect sentiment, narrative shifts, and influential voices, and layering human expertise from , , and counter-disinformation specialists. For instance, in a 2020 analysis of mining company Rio Tinto, Storyful organized to reveal evolving public sentiment and key discussion drivers, demonstrating how such methods uncover hidden patterns in online discourse. This hybrid approach ensures rigorous validation of trends, prioritizing empirical signals over . Key products include the quarterly Influential Voices Index, which evaluates how online conversations impact brand reputations by tracking high-influence commentators and thematic shifts. Additionally, reports like Deciphering Digital examine AI's role in sectors such as and healthcare, drawing on to highlight experimentation and investment trends as of September 2023. In March 2025, Storyful introduced Headstart, a cost-effective tool for PR agencies that delivers landscape assessments, stakeholder insights, and opportunity mapping within tight timelines to support pitch processes. These services emphasize causal linkages between digital signals and real-world outcomes, such as from viral , while maintaining transparency in sourcing to counter potential biases in automated . Clients benefit from customized dashboards and reports that integrate quantitative metrics—like volumes and virality scores—with qualitative breakdowns, fostering evidence-based .

Technology and Operations

Verification Methods and Tools

Storyful's verification process relies on (OSINT) techniques combined with to authenticate , including videos, images, and posts. This involves manual analysis by trained journalists who scrutinize metadata, timestamps, and contextual details to confirm authenticity, often cross-referencing claims against multiple independent sources. Key methods include digital footprint assessment of content posters, evaluating account history, linked profiles, and posting patterns for consistency and credibility. For visual media, reverse image and video searches via tools like Google Reverse Image Search and trace origins and identify prior uses or alterations. Geolocation verification employs , , and landmark matching to validate claimed event locations. Storyful integrates specialized tools such as the Verify browser extension, which tracks content engagement by journalists across social platforms to prioritize emerging stories for rapid verification. Proprietary monitoring systems scan vast social media streams in real-time, flagging potential user-generated content (UGC) based on keywords, virality, and eyewitness indicators. Since 2023, Storyful has piloted AI-assisted tools to scale verification, using for initial triage of content volumes, in visuals, and in disinformation campaigns, while human oversight ensures final authentication. These approaches draw from established protocols outlined in resources like the Verification Handbook, to which Storyful contributors have added expertise on UGC handling.

Global Team and Infrastructure

Storyful's headquarters is located in , , at 8 Harcourt Street, D02 AF58, where the company was founded in 2010 and has remained the central hub for operations post-acquisition by in 2013. This base supports core functions including editorial oversight, technology development, and strategic decision-making, with the Irish office housing key leadership roles such as the CEO and . To facilitate global content monitoring and verification, Storyful operates additional offices in New York, (at ); London, United Kingdom; and Sydney, Australia (on Holt Street). These locations were established following the 2013 acquisition to provide round-the-clock coverage across major time zones, enabling rapid sourcing of from , , Asia-Pacific, and beyond. The multinational setup leverages regional expertise in local languages, cultures, and media landscapes, which is essential for authenticating videos, images, and eyewitness accounts during international events. As of , the employs 103 staff members across these sites, comprising journalists, verification specialists, analysts, engineers, and professionals. Post-acquisition expansion in 2014 more than doubled the to enhance technical, editorial, and commercial capabilities, allowing Storyful to scale operations for high-volume news cycles and client demands. The team's infrastructure emphasizes collaborative tools for real-time communication and proprietary verification platforms, though specific technological details such as server locations or cloud dependencies are not publicly disclosed, reflecting standard practices in media intelligence firms focused on agile, distributed workflows rather than owned centers.

Clients and Case Studies

Major Clients and Partnerships

Storyful's major clients encompass leading global media organizations that rely on its services for verified , video licensing, and . Prominent among these are ABC News, Bloomberg Quicktake, , , The Times of London, , , , CBS Interactive, Verizon Media, Yahoo!, and , which utilize Storyful's platform to source, verify, and distribute social content for broadcast, online, and advertising purposes. The company maintains strategic partnerships with wire services and tech platforms to enhance content workflows. For instance, Storyful collaborates with the , providing expertise in social media verification, data access, and proprietary technology to support AP's content distribution. Similarly, a partnership with and , dating back at least to 2011, focuses on social journalism, enabling collaborative curation of verified news videos and integration into YouTube's ecosystem for broader reach. In January 2014, Storyful formalized an expanded partnership with ABC News, extending its verification capabilities, newsroom technology, and exclusive video content to bolster ABC's digital operations amid rising social media-sourced reporting. Following its 2013 acquisition by , Storyful deepened internal synergies with News Corp properties, including seamless content sharing across outlets like and , while serving external clients such as the and for breaking news verification. These relationships have enabled Storyful to support over 500 newsrooms, publishers, and advertisers worldwide in navigating the landscape.

Notable Verifications and Impacts

Storyful has conducted verifications for high-profile events, enabling news organizations to incorporate authenticated (UGC) into reporting while mitigating risks. In the aftermath of the on April 15, 2013, Storyful authenticated a widely circulated video as genuine eyewitness footage captured near the explosion site, confirming its origin through metadata analysis and geolocation, which allowed outlets like and to use it confidently in breaking coverage. This verification expedited the integration of real-time evidence into mainstream , demonstrating UGC's value in fast-evolving crises. During the 2014 viral video surge, Storyful debunked multiple hoaxes, including a clip purporting to show a twerking before being struck by a , which originated from ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! as scripted entertainment, and another depicting a exploding a watermelon, revealed as a effect via reverse image searches and source tracing. These interventions prevented erroneous publication by clients such as and , reducing the amplification of fabricated content across platforms and highlighting the need for pre-broadcast checks amid rising virality. In political contexts, Storyful refuted claims in August 2024 that crowds at a rally were digitally fabricated using AI, analyzing original footage timestamps, crowd density patterns, and eyewitness accounts to affirm authenticity despite manipulated overlays circulating on . This effort underscored AI's role in enhancing rather than originating , informing client strategies for election coverage. Similarly, during the , Storyful's intelligence reports for a global technology firm identified recurring false narratives on vaccines and transmission via social listening, enabling proactive and messaging adjustments. For natural disasters, Storyful verified UGC from in August 2021, cross-referencing public videos with satellite data and on-site reports to map flooding extents in and New York, which supported outlets like in visualizing impacts beyond official channels. These cases collectively illustrate Storyful's broader influence: by licensing over thousands of verified assets annually to media partners, the firm has enhanced journalistic accuracy, curbed hoax proliferation, and adapted verification to emerging threats like AI manipulation, though reliance on self-reported successes warrants cross-verification with independent journalistic outcomes.

Reception and Controversies

Achievements and Industry Recognition

Storyful pioneered the role of a dedicated newswire, launching in as the first agency focused on sourcing, verifying, and licensing for journalistic use. Its acquisition by in December 2013 marked a key milestone, enabling expanded global operations and integration into major news workflows, with the deal valuing the company at approximately $25 million. In recognition of its innovative verification methods, Storyful was named the global winner of the International News Media Association's (INMA) Global Awards in 2015, highlighting its contributions to attracting young talent and fostering media experimentation through tools. The agency's founder, Mark Little, received the 2014 Dot IE Net Visionary Award from the Irish Internet Association, honoring his vision in establishing as a verifiable source amid the rise of platforms like and . Storyful's "Storyful Explains" video series earned the PR News 2023 Communications & Campaigns Award in the Video category, acknowledging its effective use of verified social content to contextualize complex events for audiences. Collaborations, such as with , yielded second place in the 2016 INMA Global Media Awards for an integrated advertising and verification project that enhanced content authenticity. These accolades underscore Storyful's influence in elevating standards for digital news verification, with its services adopted by outlets including ABC News and the for rapid, evidence-based reporting on breaking events.

Criticisms and Ethical Concerns

Storyful encountered ethical scrutiny in 2018 over its Verify Chrome extension, which tracked the viewing habits of journalists at client news outlets to predict content virality. Internal tools displayed real-time notifications of client interactions with videos and images—over 200 items in a single four-hour window—shared among more than 40 employees via a Slack channel, including views of non-journalistic material such as wedding photos. Critics highlighted invasions and unauthorized , arguing that even with terms-of-service disclosures, the practice eroded trust by commodifying client behavior for . Storyful responded that the monitoring enhanced service delivery and adhered to transparent data policies, though it discontinued the specific Slack notifications following public reporting. Concerns have also arisen regarding Storyful's handling of user-generated content (UGC) rights and licensing. As an intermediary verifying and monetizing UGC for media clients, the company has faced accusations of aggressive enforcement that disadvantages creators, such as issuing claims on original livestreams without clear infringement. In April 2023, astronomer publicly criticized Storyful for placing a claim on years of prepared educational content, prompting calls for punitive measures against the firm. While Storyful emphasizes ethical UGC practices—including creator compensation through licensing agreements and infringement protections—these incidents underscore tensions between rapid verification demands and fair attribution, potentially exacerbating disputes in a platform-driven . Broader ethical questions persist about verification scalability and potential conflicts under News Corp ownership, though empirical evidence of systemic bias or misinformation amplification is lacking. Independent assessments rate Storyful's output as minimally ideological, driven by commercial incentives rather than partisan agendas. No major lawsuits or verified accuracy failures have been documented, contrasting with the firm's role in debunking falsehoods; however, reliance on proprietary tools raises transparency issues in an era of AI-assisted verification. Critics, including academic analyses, note that while Storyful pioneered UGC vetting, its evolution toward analytics may dilute pure journalistic verification, prioritizing client licensing over public-interest fact-checking.

Recent Developments and Future Outlook

In 2025, Storyful continued to emphasize content verification amid rising AI-generated media challenges, publishing analyses such as "Deciphering Digital: 5 Trends Shaping in 2025," which highlighted opportunities in smaller platforms and evolving social ecosystems. The company released "Storyful Rewind: The Top 5 Videos of 2024" on January 3, 2025, reviewing viral clips that shaped global discourse, and issued an "Elections Edition" report on January 28, 2025, examining U.S. consumer priorities shifting toward economic concerns post-election. Editor-in-Chief James Law contributed an on July 17, 2025, warning that authentic videos stripped of context pose greater risks than deepfakes. Storyful has integrated AI to enhance verification processes, launching pilots as early as April 2023 to leverage generative AI for faster while maintaining oversight. In October 2025, the company previewed "Confidence Monkey," an AI tool designed to detect synthetic videos by identifying anomalies in generation artifacts. Senior Editor John Hall, in an August 2025 interview, described AI as a "" that accelerates but heightens the need for trusted verification services. Looking ahead, Storyful anticipates expanded AI adoption to counter misinformation in elections and industries like healthcare and , where consumer skepticism toward AI applications persists. The firm plans to prioritize hybrid human-AI workflows for real-time verification, focusing on contextual analysis of to support media clients amid fragmented social platforms. No structural changes, such as divestitures, have been announced since News Corp's 2020 considerations, indicating stable integration within its parent company.

References

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