Separating fact from fear: Trusted content from our editorial team

Today, LinkedIn’s Senior VP of Product, Ryan Rolansky, shared a post about how LinkedIn's editorial team is helping to provide relevant and accurate information around COVID-19 to our members. We’re sharing his full post here as well:  

The past several weeks have been difficult--and it appears we have a challenging road ahead. It’s also an enormously disorienting time with news changing by the minute. And as we navigate this inside of LinkedIn, we keep turning to our editorial team to help figure out which way is up.

Dan Roth, LinkedIn’s Editor in Chief, and his team of 65+ editors, located across the globe and working 24 hours a day, are singularly focused on making sure what we publish is timely and accurate. Keeping up with real-time updates of high-quality content is something we take seriously and is our number one priority during this unprecedented time. 

So many companies are pointing to LinkedIn as a source of truth. And in a time when information is spreading so quickly and so erroneously, I’m proud of our team. 

When we hired Dan almost nine years ago and started talking about adding an editorial voice to the LinkedIn platform, we had no idea where we’d be today. We had huge ideas and big plans but wondered if what we were sketching on the white board would actually become a reality. Were we dreaming too big? Does our audience want this from us? 

We weren't and you do. Our members are turning to LinkedIn to find news they can trust and we take this responsibility seriously, particularly in times like this.

We are using many tools and products to make sure we’re bringing you the most relevant and accurate content. As I mentioned last week, we’ve launched a ‘Special Report: Coronavirus’ box above ‘Today’s News and Views’ with storylines relevant to COV19. This offers reliable updates from experts such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and more.

Content sourcing matters, which is why we’re promoting content from the most credible organizations and experts. The WHO is updating daily with live streams of their media briefings, tips to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic, and hosting real-time Q&As with experts, which is generating some of the highest views on LinkedIn Live. And the CDC is focused on sharing real-time reports and updates--and cutting down on the spread of misinformation.

If you’re looking to stay current, the Daily Rundown is updated frequently and is a one-stop shop for all things COVID, and reaches 96 million people daily. And the regular Daily Rundown, the largest daily business publication, continues to give professional insights to millions of people a day. And if you haven’t tuned in to Business Unusual, I encourage you to check out the latest episode. It’s on four days a week and covers the key issues that we are all facing as professionals in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. These range from how CEOs are taking a leadership role to the reality of WFH with kids. 

We’re approaching this story very specifically: Covering the news, fostering conversations and getting them to the right audiences. We have human editors because having experienced journalists working with and alongside algorithms is a better solution than having either on their own. Our editors have the unique ability to put news and views in context. We like to say that ‘the story starts with the reader.’ In addition to making sure our Coronavirus coverage is reliable, our editors are spending a lot of time listening. To our members, to our influencers, to you. 

What are our members talking about? What are they interested in? 

We’re listening and surfacing trending topics and issues. Our members are sharing perspectives and advice on topics including remote working, social distancing, crisis management, business continuity, online learning and collaboration in record numbers. Our members are also talking about: small business owners, frontline workers, jobseekers. These stories give affected members a platform and resources to navigate their specific crises. Another example, this running tracker of corporate responses has been invaluable for business leaders and employees alike.

We are also tracking trends in the conversation. For example, France has the highest percentage of posts discussing COVID-19, while Brazil has the fastest growth in COVID-19 discussions.

Stay tuned as we continue to look for insights in the data to help provide our members as much clarity as possible in such an uncertain situation.

Investing in our editorial team was a decision we made years ago and as I’ve heard from members and business leaders how much the content they are curating has helped during this time, I’m glad we did. Stay safe and stay healthy this week. We’re #InThisTogether.