A big hurdle facing news organizations that want to source content from social media users is the ability to verify information. Storyful, a "social news agency," attempts to override digital mistrust.

One way to verify social social media posts is through the use of time and location stamps, which Storyful founder Mark Little notes were unavailable four years ago. This metadata indicates whether the person posting the report may have actually been on the scene of the news. This can also be helpful in identifying social media reporters and stories in or about your community.

The next step is verifying the user's content and profile, noting whether there's a history of reporting on that topic, and whether that user is respected for covering that topic in their community. 

Lastly, Storyful actually talks to the social media user about what happened.

The information pieced together from verified users, then paired with info logically drawn from sources like Google Maps and other journalism tools, allows Storyful to create meaningful stories.

Little says that journalists are "no longer the gatekeepers of scarce information, but the managers of an overabundance of content and data and content and storytelling" Journalists must elevate authentic stories and share them with news outlets and their community.

The company, which charges a subscription rate to news outlets for their service, in April announced a partnership with Facebook to develop FB Newswire, a news aggregator operating in real time.