Reuters published its guidelines for reporting via the Internet and using social media, stressing transparency in using social media, including mentioning affiliation with Reuters and stating that opinions expressed are personal, as well as clearing the use of social-media sites with managers, and breaking news via the wire rather than via Twitter or other sites.
The WebNewser article goes on to provide a thorough overview of what the guidelines contain.
Section 1.5 (it's just a few sentences) Offers a Few Ideas to Determine if a Report is a Hoax.
Do a reality check. Does this information fit within the bounds of what was expected? Any wild divergences are a clue you may be viewing information in the wrong context. Do a reality check. Does this information fit within the bounds of what was expected? Any wild divergences are a clue you may be viewing information in the wrong context.
Sounds very similar to what an info pro would say.
Section 2.1 Basic Principles
The distinction between the private and the professional has largely broken down online and you should assume that your professional and personal social media activity will be treated as one no matter how hard you try to keep them separate. You should also be aware that even if you make use of privacy settings, anything you post on a social media site may be made public.
Section 2.3 Twitter Policy
The document spends a large chunk of time discussing Twitter. For example:
Section 2.3.6
Can I Break News via Twitter?
As with blogging within Reuters News, you should make sure that if you have hard news content that it is broken first via the wire. Don’t scoop the wire. NB this does not apply if you are 'retweeting' (re-publishing) someone else's scoop.
Section 3
Online Encyclopedias
Online information sources which rely on collaborative, voluntary and often anonymous contributions need to be handled with care. Wikipedia, the online "people's encyclopedia", can be a good starting point for research, but it should not be used as an attributable source. Do not quote from it or copy from it. The information it contains has not been validated and can change from second to second as contributors add or remove material. Move on to official websites or other sources that are worthy of attribution. Do not link to Wikipedia or similar collaborative encyclopedia sites as a source of background information on any topic. More suitable sites can almost always be found, and indeed are often flagged at the bottom of Wikipedia entries. It is only acceptable to link to an entry on Wikipedia or similar sites when the entry or website itself is the subject of a news story.
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