Trump, Mueller Investigation, and Alleged Russian Election Meddling: Russian Media Coverage in 2017-2019

2020 ◽  
pp. 000276422097845
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Gavra ◽  
Pavel Slutskiy

The article analyses Russian media coverage of the charges of Russian meddling in the presidential elections in 2016, including the Mueller investigation and the publication of the Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. The research utilizes content analysis of three daily newspapers and one official TV channel, with all the materials matching the relevant keywords being included in the sample. Several questions are discussed, including the following: all accusations in the presidential elections meddling are completely rejected, and the very existence of the accusations is attributed to several factors, such as U.S. internal political confrontation between Democrats and the Republicans, ongoing “Russophobia,” and general incompetence of American politicians and secret services. As a result Russian audiences are groomed to believe that all the accusations are completely false and should not be taken seriously. These accusations, however, are positioned by the media as belonging to a wider category of “fake news” and as such are portrayed as a threat not only to Russia, but to the global security in general.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-133

Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, attacks on the media have been relentless. “Fake news” has become a household term, and repeated attempts to break the trust between reporters and the American people have threatened the validity of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In this article, the authors trace the development of fake news and its impact on contemporary political discourse. They also outline cutting-edge pedagogies designed to assist students in critically evaluating the veracity of various news sources and social media sites.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110247
Author(s):  
Alexandrea J. Ravenelle ◽  
Abigail Newell ◽  
Ken Cai Kowalski

The authors explore media distrust among a sample of precarious and gig workers interviewed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although these left-leaning respondents initially increased their media consumption at the outset of the pandemic, they soon complained of media sensationalism and repurposed a readily available cultural tool: claims of “fake news.” As a result, these unsettled times have resulted in a “diffusion of distrust,” in which an elite conservative discourse of skepticism toward the media has also become a popular form of compensatory control among self-identified liberals. Perceiving “fake news” and media sensationalism as “not good” for their mental health, respondents also reported experiencing media burnout and withdrawing from media consumption. As the pandemic passes its one-year anniversary, this research has implications for long-term media coverage on COVID-19 and ongoing media trust and consumption.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e023485
Author(s):  
Caroline Louise Miller ◽  
Aimee Lee Brownbill ◽  
Joanne Dono ◽  
Kerry Ettridge

ObjectivesIn 2012, Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plain or standardised tobacco packaging, coupled with larger graphic health warnings. This policy was fiercely opposed by industry. Media coverage can be an influential contributor to public debate, and both public health advocates and industry sought media coverage for their positions. The aim of this study was to measure the print media coverage of Australian’s plain packaging laws, from inception to roll-out, in major Australian newspapers.MethodsThis study monitored mainstream Australian print media (17 newspapers) coverage of the plain packaging policy debate and implementation, over a 7-year period from January 2008 to December 2014. Articles (n=701) were coded for article type, opinion slant and topic(s).DesignContent analysis.ResultsCoverage of plain packaging was low during preimplementation phase (2008–2009), increasing sharply in the lead into legislative processes and diminished substantially after implementation. Articles covered policy rationale, policy progress and industry arguments. Of the news articles, 96% were neutrally framed. Of the editorials, 55% were supportive, 28% were opposing, 12% were neutral and 5% were mixed.ConclusionsProtracted political debate, reflected in the media, led to an implementation delay of plain packaging. While Australian media provided comprehensive coverage of industry arguments, news coverage was largely neutral, whereas editorials were mostly supportive or neutral of the policy. Countries seeking to implement plain packaging of tobacco should not be deterred by the volume of news coverage, but should actively promote the evidence for plain packaging in the media to counteract the arguments of the tobacco industry.


1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Atwater

Treatment of environmental news was examined in concert with readers' perceptions of environmental topics. A content analysis of three midwest daily newspapers indicated a majority of environmental stories examined appeared within the first four pages of the newspapers. Disposal of wastes, quality of water and hazardous substances were perceived by readers as the most important environmental topics prominently reported by the media.


Tripodos ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 153-168
Author(s):  
Jordi Serrat

Catalunya va viure l’1 d’octubre del 2017 un dels moments informatius més importants de la seva història. El Govern català va habilitar, desobeint el Tribunal Constitucional, 2.243 col∙legis electorals per preguntar als ciutadans si estaven a favor o en contra de la inde­pendència de Catalunya. El fet que els principals òrgans dels poders judicial i polític d’Espanya consideressin il∙legal aquest referèndum no va fer desistir els organitzadors. La jornada va estar mar­cada per la gent que va mobilitzar-se per votar i per l’actuació de la policia espanyola que va intervenir amb força. La recerca analitza com un viral de You­Tube, per denunciar irregularitats en la consulta, conté tots els ingredients per considerar-lo la principal fake news d’aquell dia. L’anàlisi es contextualitza amb opinions sobre la cobertura del re­ferèndum de quatre periodistes catalans entrevistats (Crónica Global, El País i Ara). També es confronten els relats de TV3 i TVE, en el Telenotícies i el Tele­diario. Mentre la televisió catalana va presentar l’1-O de manera èpica, per la resistència popular per salvaguardar uns drets que simbolitzaven les urnes enfront les càrregues policials; la televi­sió pública espanyola va emfatitzar que va ser una acció il∙legal, sense garanties democràtiques.   Votes in the Streets on October 1, 2017 in Catalonia: An Example of Covert Fake News On October 1st, 2017 (1-O), Catalonia experienced one of the most important newsworthy moments in its history. The Catalan government set up 2.243 polling stations to conduct a referendum on Catalonia’s independence, thereby disobeying Spain’s Constitutional Court. Although the main bodies of the Spa­nish judiciary and political powers con­sidered the referendum illegal, the orga­nizers persisted. The day was marked by people’s mobilizations, which consisted of defending polling stations and pro­tecting voters from police intervention. With this study, we seek to analyse how a YouTube video, which reported irregu­larities about the referendum and went viral, contains all the ingredients to be considered fake news. The analysis is contextualized with opinions about the media coverage of the referendum by four interviews with Catalan journalists (Crónica Global, El País, Ara). The ac­counts of TV3 (Televisió de Catalunya) and TVE (Televisión Española), in Tele­notícies (TV3’s news) and Telediario(TVE’s news) are also juxtaposed. While the Catalan public television (TV3) pre­sented the 1-O in an epic way, stressing the citizens’ resistance to safeguard the rights as symbolized by the ballot boxes against the Spanish police, the Spanish public television (TVE) emphasised that 1-O was an illegal referendum lacking democratic legitimacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benny Nuriely ◽  
Moti Gigi ◽  
Yuval Gozansky

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the ways socio-economic issues are represented in mainstream news media and how it is consumed, understood and interpreted by Israeli young adults (YAs). It examines how mainstream media uses neo-liberal discourse, and the ways YAs internalize this ethic, while simultaneously finding ways to overcome its limitations. Design/methodology/approach This was a mixed methods study. First, it undertook content analysis of the most popular Israeli mainstream news media among YAs: the online news site Ynet and the TV Channel 2 news. Second, the authors undertook semi-structured in-depth interviews with 29 Israeli YAs. The analysis is based on an online survey of 600 young Israelis, aged 18–35 years. Findings Most YAs did not perceive mainstream media as enabling a reliable understanding of the issues important to them. The content analysis revealed that self-representation of YAs is rare, and that their issues were explained, and even resolved, by older adults. Furthermore, most of YAs' problems in mainstream news media were presented using a neo-liberal perspective. Finally, from the interviews, the authors learned that YAs did not find information that could help them deal with their most pressing economic and social issue, in the content offered by mainstream media. For most of them, social media overcomes these shortcomings. Originality/value Contrary to research that has explored YAs’ consumerism of new media outlets, this article explores how YAs in Israel are constructed in the media, as well as the way in which YAs understand mainstream and new social media coverage of the issues most important to them. Using media content analysis and interviews, the authors found that Young Adults tend to be ambivalent toward media coverage. They understand the lack of media information: most of them know that they do not learn enough from the media. This acknowledgment accompanies their tendency to internalize the neo-liberal logic and conservative Israeli national culture, in which class and economic redistribution are largely overlooked. Mainstream news media uses neo-liberal discourse, and young adults internalize this logic, while simultaneously finding ways to overcome the limitations this discourse offers. They do so by turning to social media, mainly Facebook. Consequently, their behavior maintains the logic of the market, while also developing new social relations, enabled by social media.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nwachukwu Andrew Egbunike ◽  
Noel Ihebuzor ◽  
Ngozi Onyechi

Social media is becoming increasingly important as a means for social engagement. In Nigeria, Twitter is employed to convey opinion and make commentary on matters ranging from football to politics. Tweets are also used to inform, advocate, recruit and even incite. Previous studies have shown that Twitter could be effective for political mobilization. However, there is dearth of research on how Twitter has been used as a purveyor of neutral and/or hate speech in the Nigerian context. This study examined the nature of tweets in the immediate aftermath of the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria. The authors employed content analysis of 250 purposively selected tweets from the #Igbo hashtag which trended between March 29 and 31, 2015. The tweets were then categorized into five explicit hate and one neutral tweet category respectively. Results revealed the dominance of three hate tweet types: derogatory, mocking and blaming. These findings were then discussed bearing in mind earlier theories on the functionality of tweets and voting patterns from an analysis of the election results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1119-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin P. Calvillo ◽  
Bryan J. Ross ◽  
Ryan J. B. Garcia ◽  
Thomas J. Smelter ◽  
Abraham M. Rutchick

The present research examined the relationship between political ideology and perceptions of the threat of COVID-19. Due to Republican leadership’s initial downplaying of COVID-19 and the resulting partisan media coverage, we predicted that conservatives would perceive it as less threatening. Two preregistered online studies supported this prediction. Conservatism was associated with perceiving less personal vulnerability to the virus and the virus’s severity as lower, and stronger endorsement of the beliefs that the media had exaggerated the virus’s impact and that the spread of the virus was a conspiracy. Conservatism also predicted less accurate discernment between real and fake COVID-19 headlines and fewer accurate responses to COVID-19 knowledge questions. Path analyses suggested that presidential approval, knowledge about COVID-19, and news discernment mediated the relationship between ideology and perceived vulnerability. These results suggest that the relationship between political ideology and threat perceptions may depend on issue framing by political leadership and media.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-154
Author(s):  
Tatiana Riabova ◽  
Oleg Riabov

The article deals with the Russian media coverage of sexual assaults against women during the 2016 New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne. The authors examine it in the frame of discourse of “Gayropa” that represents the EU via changes in gender order of the West European societies. The pro-Kremlin media coverage of the “Rape of Europe” contributes to positioning Russia in the world, maintaining power legitimacy in the country, and supporting gender order in Russian society. The media discourse treats it as an evidence of decline of the European civilization.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-187
Author(s):  
Taha Siddiqui

Valentine’s Day celebration in India has been much debated and covered by the media in the last couple of years. In the year 2009, far right Hindu activist from Sri Ram Sena to Bajrang Dal were involved in beating up unmarried couples and blackening their faces, as mark of shame for celebrating Valentine’s Day. They claimed that the festival was a “western practice” and promotes “lust not love”. Following this other Anti- Valentine’s Day groups also expressed their views and this led to public debate about moral policing and Indian culture. However what is interesting to note is the fact how media covered. At one side media has played a big role in promoting it (for many reasons) and on the other hand it has also criticized it for cultural and religious concerns.This research tries to explore in depth how media covers the festival with commercialization, culture, religion and politics in the backdrop. The research studies 9 newspapers of in 3 different languages, namely English, Hindi and Urdu.  The study tries to find out whether media is biased in covering the festival or is it propagating an idea to its readers. The idea of taking 3 different languages is to draw a sharp comparison and contrast among the national and vernacular newspapers.In order to find it, both quantitative and qualitative methods have been applied to the articles. Content analysis and Textual analysis are the important methods used to find out the statistics and underlying meanings behind these articles.Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 3, Issue-3: 171-187


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