<p>Credit: Thinkstock This is an edited extract from the start of the Verification Handbook, published this week by the European Journalism Centre and currently available online.</p><p>The public relies on official sources such as news organisations, emergency services and government agencies to provide credible, timely information.</p><p>But, at the same time, these organisations and institutions increasingly look to the public, the crowd, to help source new information and bring important perspective and context. When it works, this creates a virtuous cycle: Official and established sources of information - government agencies, NGOs, news organisations provide critical information in times of need, and work closely with the people on the ground who are first to see and document an emergency.</p><p>The combination of the human and the technological with a sense of direction and diligence is ultimately what helps speed and perfect verificationVerification HandbookTo achieve this, journalists and humanitarian and emergency workers must become adept at using social media and other sources to gather, triangulate and verify the often conflicting information emerging during a disaster. They require proven processes, trustworthy tools, and tried and true techniques. Most of all, they need to gain all of the aforementioned before a disaster occurs.</p><p><a href="http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/verification-handbook-necessary-tools-for-breaking-news/s2/a555728/">Keep reading...</a></p>