© Massimiliano Donati/Awakening/GettyKamal Ahmed
The former editorial director of BBC News has co-founded a start-up tackling misinformation after being axed by the broadcaster.
Kamal Ahmed is launching the News Movement to deliver trustworthy and objective information to the millions of people consuming information through social media.
He will become editor-in-chief of the operation, with Will Lewis - the former head of the Rupert Murdoch-owned financial publisher Dow Jones and a former editor of The Telegraph - serving as chief executive and publisher.
It comes after Mr Ahmed, who previously worked as the BBC's economics editor, was culled during a restructure in February that left the broadcaster in breach of its rules on minority ethnic representation.
His departure meant the BBC News board had no BAME representative, violating rules that state all leadership groups must have at least two staff members from minority ethnic backgrounds.
The redundancy was part of a plan to slash 450 jobs from the news business in a bid to save £80m by 2022.
Mr Ahmed will be joined by former Dow Jones executives Ramin Beheshti and Eleanor Breen, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the appointments.
Mr Beheshti will be head of product, with Ms Breen becoming the chief of operations.
The News Movement has been launched with seed funding from Mr Lewis.
© Provided by The TelegraphWill Lewis's start-up will share a percentage of revenue from story right sales with the journalists behind the scoops - ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX
It is understood the venture will aim to produce high-impact stories holding the powerful to account, and seek to exploit the intellectual property generated via deals to turn them into documentaries, podcasts and books.
The business model builds on a US trend for publishers and journalists to cash in on strong demand for journalistic content from subscription video and streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify, as well as quality newspapers such as the New York Times and digital upstarts led by Substack.
Amid an arms race to hire the best talent, the News Movement hopes to set itself apart by sharing a percentage of the returns from the rights to stories with its journalists.
The News Movement has been incubated at news broadcaster ITN for the past six months and is in talks with investors over funding.
Mr Ahmed joined the BBC in 2014 after stints working as the business editor of the Sunday Telegraph and as executive editor and political editor for the Observer.
The venture reunites him with Mr Lewis after they both studied journalism at City University and were colleagues at The Telegraph.
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