Rhona Tarrant, executive editor of CBS News Confirmed, will give the annual Marie Colvin Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday, February 26.
“The New Battlefield: Open Source Investigations into Conflict and Disinformation” will examine the rising prominence of open source verification in conflict reporting. The event is hosted by the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting at Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ).
Marie Colvin was a fearless war correspondent who exposed crimes against humanity from the front lines. Born on Long Island, she was killed in 2012 in a targeted attack by the Syrian regime led by the dictator Bashar Al-Assad, who was overthrown in December last year.
Colvin’s murder highlighted the risks to international correspondents reporting in conflict zones and investigating autocratic regimes. This contributed to the rise of open source journalism, using social media verification and digital tools to counter disinformation and expose abuses of power. These techniques are now a core part of modern journalism, supporting the indispensable work of on-the-ground reporting.
“In countries where people may not be allowed to openly show dissent or may face retaliation if they oppose whoever is in power, the ability to post videos on social media — through anonymous Facebook pages, for example — has been extremely powerful,” said Rhona Tarrant. “That is why it is important for newsrooms outside these countries to be able to find and verify this content, give it context, and make sure that it gets into news reporting.”
Tarrant started her career in radio and TV, but she pivoted to video verification after realizing social media was shifting to the forefront as a key component of journalism. Now she is executive editor of CBS News Confirmed, a unit focused on visual verification, open source investigations, and tackling disinformation, including AI-generated deepfakes.
“What a remarkable opportunity it is for us to host Rhona here on the Stony Brook campus,” said Laura Lindenfeld, dean of the SoCJ and executive director of the Alda Center for Communicating Science. “Being able to interact with media industry leaders like her provides our students with first-hand knowledge about contemporary issues and changes in journalism. We’re thrilled she’s coming to talk with us.”
Tarrant will take the audience on a journey through social media’s evolution: to where it began as a technological advancement capturing powerful videos in real time, to groups weaponizing social media to distort the truth. She will talk about the heightened challenges newsrooms face in a time where people in power spread misinformation and disinformation.
The Arab Spring protests, which Colvin reported on, marked a turning point in news dissemination. Footage spread rapidly via social media rather than shared in evening TV news programs or in the morning paper. This usage has accelerated over the past 15 years. “That’s why it’s not an option for newsrooms to do this type of work. It’s a necessity,” said Tarrant.
“Journalism is constantly breaking new frontiers and Rhona is a pioneer in an expanding field,” said Sarah Baxter, director of the Colvin Center. “Open source intelligence is vital to uncovering corruption, human rights abuses and war crimes, and establishing the truth in a world of disinformation.”
The event will take place at the Charles B. Wang Center Theater on Wednesday, February 26. Refreshments will be at 5:30 pm, followed by the lecture at 6 pm. The event is free and open to the public. Reserve a seat online.
— Melanie Formosa
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