scholarly journals Verification initiatives in the scenario of misinformation. Actants for integrated plans with multi-level strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 614-635
Author(s):  
Xosé López-García ◽  
Ángel Vizoso ◽  
Sara Pérez-Seijo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Standard Practice ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
The Media ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
National Governments

The spread of misinformation has become standard practice in today’s communicative scene. Both individual users and organizations disseminate false content for economic or political benefits. The response against these strategies has been to develop initiatives to both verify false information as well as prevent it from being spread. This article presents actions adopted by different actors to stop the spread of fake news. These actors are European institutions, national governments, the media, and major technology companies. Thus, this paper takes a comprehensive look at how misinformation is addressed in the European Union by studying reports and legislative texts and reviewing the growth of fact-checking initiatives.A disseminação da desinformação se tornou uma prática muito comum no atual cenário comunicativo. Utilizadores individuais e organizações disseminam conteúdo falso para obter benefício econômico ou político. A resposta contra essas estratégias tem sido o desenvolvimento de iniciativas cujo objetivo é tanto a verificação de informações falsas quanto a prevenção da sua disseminação. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar as ações tomadas por diferentes atores com a capacidade de impedir a disseminação de notícias falsas: instituições europeias e governos nacionais, os media e as principais empresas tecnológicas. Assim, através do estudo de relatórios e textos legislativos ou a revisão do crescimento das iniciativas de fact-checking, os autores desenharão uma panorâmica sobre como a desinformação é abordada na União Europeia.La propagación de desinformación se ha convertido en una práctica muy frecuente en el escenario comunicativo actual. Usuarios individuales y organizaciones hacen uso de la difusión de contenidos falsos para obtener rendimiento económico o político. La reacción frente a este tipo de estrategias no se ha hecho esperar de forma pareciendo iniciativas dirigidas tanto a la verificación de las informaciones falsas como a evitar su publicación. El objetivo del presente artículo es dar cuenta de las acciones adoptadas por los diferentes actores con capacidad para frenar la difusión de fake news: las instituciones europeas y los gobiernos nacionales, el periodismo y las principales empresas tecnológicas. A partir del estudio de diferentes informes y textos legislativos, así como de las herramientas diseñadas por las empresas tecnológicas o la revisión del crecimiento de iniciativas de fact-checking se dibuja una panorámica general de cómo se intenta combatir la desinformación en el marco de la Unión Europea.

scholarly journals The #Brexit on the Facebook pages of the European institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanase Tasente
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Public Events ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Facebook Pages ◽  
High Engagement

The Brexit referendum was among the first major public events where online users had no "slacktivism" reactions and they led the entire debate and popular will from the inside of the online world to the real world. It is becoming increasingly clear that Social Media is becoming an increasingly powerful tool in political debates, and during the parliamentary, presidential, European parliamentary or even referendum elections, it becomes the channel that can decide the final outcome. However, the debate in the online environment can be altered by two important factors: (1) political bots - which can manipulate public opinion by posting in a large number of fake news and (2) "slacktivism" reactions from online users. , who are content only to quickly distribute unverified information or to push impulse driven on the "like" button and to scroll further. This study focused on analyzing the frequency with which European institutions spoke about Brexit on their Facebook pages and on identifying and analyzing the messages that generate high engagement from users. Thus, we will analyze all the posts published by the three major European institutions - the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union - starting on the first day after the Brexit Referendum in the UK (24 June 2016) until 24 June 2019.

scholarly journals Media ecosystems and the fact-checking movement

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-112
Author(s):  
Marija Slijepčević ◽  
Mirela Holy ◽  
Nikolina Borčić
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Creative Economy ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Further Development

A creative economy is an economy where value is based on imaginative qualities‎ rather than on the resources of land, labour and capital, and one of the‎ most dynamic sectors of the global economy. The media industry is an important‎ part of the creative economy and faces the most dynamic media ecosystems‎ changes. One of the most interesting phenomena is the rising discipline‎ of fact-checking. The discipline, which in four years (2014-2018) had a global‎ growth of 239%, has developed to combat the adverse consequences of fake‎ news and misinformation. It has brought interesting changes in media ecosystems‎ and has enriched this part of the creative economy sector. This paper‎ brings an overview of fact-checking trends in the European Union and South‎ East Asia as these two regions show the fastest growth of the creative economy.‎ Analysis answers the following research questions: What is the status of‎ fact-checkers in those parts of the world? Which business models are dominant?‎ How popular are they on social media? Which methodologies are used‎ for fact-checking? What are their sources of financing? How often are the‎ fact-checking organisation bilingual? Results show a significant discrepancy‎ in trends in those two continents and emphasise fact-checking organisations’‎ contribution in the complex media ecosystems and further development. As‎ media ownership impacts media content, research regarding media owners’‎ impact on fact-checking trends in the European Union and South East Asia‎ is recommended.‎

scholarly journals Opposing the Power of Lies, Bullshit and Fake News: the Value of Truth

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison MacKenzie ◽  
Ibrar Bhatt
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Instrumental Value ◽  
Proper Functioning ◽  
The Media ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract ‘Post-truth’ politics poses a serious challenge to the values of truth, and consequently trust. Sections of mainstream political parties and the media do not appear to have basic knowledge or insight into processes that underpin our institutions, and we are confronted with the proliferation of lies, fake news and bullshit—and profound ignorance. We will explore the distinctions between truth and truthfulness, and lies and deceit to centrally argue that truth has considerable intrinsic and instrumental value that should be protected and respected. Truth is invaluable to the integrity of the person, institution and nation, and a climate of trust to the proper functioning of democracy. While it may be expedient to distort or ignore the truth, we value truth in ways that cannot be reduced to its practical value. This is because it is very closely related to trust, sincerity and integrity. Indifference to truth, and the cynical espousing of lies, fake news or bullshit can be destabilising and harmful, as Brexit (the United Kingdom’s process of withdrawal from the European Union) is painfully revealing. Deception constitutes a limit to our will: how can we make informed choices if the information we receive is inaccurate, false or untrue? As our information ecosystem becomes increasingly complex, unpredictable and balkanised, educators have a vital role in helping an informed public navigate what it encounters online.

scholarly journals The European Union: A Politically Incorrect View

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Alesina ◽  
Roberto Perotti
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Constitution ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
Wrong Direction ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
National Governments

In this paper, we present our view of the recent evolution of European integration. We first briefly describe the main features of the institution and decision making process in the European Union, with particular attention to the debate between federalists and super nationalists. We then identify two key issues in the process of European integration: 1) an emphasis on “institutional balance” based on a complex web of institutions with overlapping jurisdiction; 2) A conflict between a dirigiste versus a more laissez faire approach to government. We argue that the first problem leads to a lack of clarity in the allocation of powers between European institutions, confusion in the allocation of prerogatives between national governments and EU institutions, and lack of transparency and accountability. The dirigiste culture also manifests itself in an abundant production of verbose rhetoric, which in our view is far from innocuous and direct set the European policy debate in the wrong direction. We then study how these problems play out in 4 important areas: employment policies, culture and scientific research, foreign and defense policies, and fiscal policy. Finally, we study the implications of the recently proposed European Constitution a potential solution of these two problems.

The Composite Case for National Parliaments in the European Union: Who Profits from Enhanced Involvement

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Kiiver
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Constitution Building ◽  
National Governments

National parliaments near-universally endorsed in the European Union constitution-building process – Case for national parliaments a composite one: different scholarly approaches and national and European institutions support a greater role for national parliaments for different reasons – The overall endorsement of national parliaments remains a balancing act between competing agendas – Future reforms and treaty-drafting efforts most likely will continue to favour approaches of open-ended political content – No risk for the national governments nor Union institutions.

scholarly journals The Values of the EU and their Protection in the European Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (7) ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Stanislav Kuvaldin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
European Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Eu

Article 7 of the Treaty on the European Union envisages a mechanism for responding to breaching by Member States the values of democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights proclaimed by the Union, as well as the introduction of sanctions. Nevertheless, the EU structures are extremely cautious about this mechanism, despite the reasons for its application. The article analyzes the history of this clause in European legislation and the first attempts to influence dubious decisions of the Member States. The author explores the cases of Poland and Hungary in light of discussions to initiate the Article 7 procedures against these countries. It is concluded that such an outcome is unlikely. It is highlighted that the clause was deliberately formulated so that it allows to limit the actions of European institutions, to leave decisions in the hands of national governments and to provide an opportunity to settle the disput through negotiations. The author explores the internal discussions of alternative ways to influence values-violating Member States.

scholarly journals Fake News in the Ukrainian Media Space: Technologies of Experimental Projects

2019 ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Alla Mykolaienko
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
System Method ◽  
Media Space ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
The Impact

The article considers dissemination of experimental fake messages by research organizations through analysis of media and audience feedback. The objective of the research is to study the main techniques of fake creation on the basis of experimental fakes traced in the Ukrainian information space. The methods used in the article are the following: analysis – to study the state of media landscape as to availability of fake news; the system method – to establish the ways of fake dissemination; the systematization method – to determine fakes’ features and characteristics. The preconditions, reasons and specifics of creation and intentional dissemination of false information in the society are studied in the article. As a result of the research, the role of pilot projects related to fake dissemination as part of popularization of ideas of media literacy and media education has been identified. It is analyzed the impact of experimental fake news on the media and the general public, in particular on dissemination of messages by the users in social networks. Simultaneously the thesis that regional journalists automatically rewrite and repost the Ukrainian mass media is refuted, as we have traced their professional response to dissemination of false information. The verification of facts (fact checking) is mandatory for journalists and necessary for every consumer of information, as making the media responsible for the facts is not an indication of media literacy.

Term extraction and management based on event templates

Terminology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katia Peruzzo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Classification Criteria ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Term Extraction ◽  
Automatic Term Extraction ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Victims Of Crime

The paper examines the possible usage of event templates derived from Frame-Based Terminology (Faber et al. 2005, 2006, 2007) as an aid to the extraction and management of legal terminology embedded in the multi-level legal system of the European Union. The method proposed here, which combines semi-automatic term extraction and a simplified event template containing six categories, is applied to an English corpus of EU texts focusing on victims of crime and their rights. Such a combination allows for the extraction of category-relevant terminological units and additional information, which can then be used for populating a terminological knowledge base organised on the basis of the same event template, but which also employs additional classification criteria to account for the multidimensionality encountered in the corpus.

Religion and EU Institutions

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Annicchino
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
Religious Associations ◽  
Dialogue Seminar

The implementation of Article 17(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) has always been one of the central topics of discussion for legal scholars analysing the relationships between religious groups and European institutions. According to Article 17, the European Union shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with churches, religious associations or communities, philosophical organisations and non-confessional organisations. In the case in hand, the complainant, the European Humanist Federation (EHF) decided to lodge a complaint before the European Ombudsman when the European Commission rejected the proposal for a dialogue seminar.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document