Recognizing the high-profile role that ‘citizen journalist’ video can play in news stories, YouTube has announced YouTube Newswire, a curated feed of eyewitness videos which have been confirmed as genuine.

In partnership with Storyful, a social news agency we’ve worked with since protests broke out in Tahrir Square in 2011, we’re rolling out the YouTube Newswire, a curated feed of the most newsworthy eyewitness videos of the day, which have been verified by Storyful’s team of editors and are embeddable from the original sources.

The initiative is supported by The First Draft Coalition to provide materials which help journalists and others verify eyewitness media and consider the ethical implications of using it in reporting. A full website will follow, but YouTube has kicked things off with a collection of blog pieces on Medium …

Finally, The WITNESS Media Lab (YouTube’s capitalization) will use eyewitness video to assist in raising the profile of human rights issues.

YouTube says in a blog post that it is proud of the role that YouTube and its creators have played in news coverage, and hopes that the three initiatives will enable eyewitness video to be used more easily and responsibly.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BeecWFU0ts]

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