scholarly journals “Thank god for Deadspin”: Interlopers, metajournalistic commentary, and fake news through the lens of “journalistic realization”

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 856-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A Eldridge

Interlopers are a class of digital-peripheral journalists and outlets who position their work as journalism, but who have struggled to be recognized as such. While we have long acknowledged journalism’s place online, as digital-peripheral journalists interlopers face challenges when it comes to appreciating their work as news and their contributions as journalism. This article argues their contributions warrant further evaluation as the journalistic field continues to confront change and engage new approaches to journalism, and as interlopers continue to produce news. Using Deadspin’s coverage of the Sinclair Broadcast Group as an exemplar of such contributions, this article details an approach which accounts for interlopers’ unique approaches to news, locating in broader news discourse measures of “journalistic realization” as a legitimating discourse. Its findings tentatively suggest a weakening of historically hardened boundaries between journalism’s core and its periphery, and argue for continued, nuanced exploration of the nature of the journalistic field.

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Al-Rawi ◽  
Jacob Groshek ◽  
Li Zhang

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine one of the largest data sets on the hashtag use of #fakenews that comprises over 14m tweets sent by more than 2.4m users.Design/methodology/approachTweets referencing the hashtag (#fakenews) were collected for a period of over one year from January 3 to May 7 of 2018. Bot detection tools were employed, and the most retweeted posts, most mentions and most hashtags as well as the top 50 most active users in terms of the frequency of their tweets were analyzed.FindingsThe majority of the top 50 Twitter users are more likely to be automated bots, while certain users’ posts like that are sent by President Donald Trump dominate the most retweeted posts that always associate mainstream media with fake news. The most used words and hashtags show that major news organizations are frequently referenced with a focus on CNN that is often mentioned in negative ways.Research limitations/implicationsThe research study is limited to the examination of Twitter data, while ethnographic methods like interviews or surveys are further needed to complement these findings. Though the data reported here do not prove direct effects, the implications of the research provide a vital framework for assessing and diagnosing the networked spammers and main actors that have been pivotal in shaping discourses around fake news on social media. These discourses, which are sometimes assisted by bots, can create a potential influence on audiences and their trust in mainstream media and understanding of what fake news is.Originality/valueThis paper offers results on one of the first empirical research studies on the propagation of fake news discourse on social media by shedding light on the most active Twitter users who discuss and mention the term “#fakenews” in connection to other news organizations, parties and related figures.


Author(s):  
Edson C. Tandoc Jr. ◽  
Andrew Duffy ◽  
S Mo Jones-Jang ◽  
Winnie Goh Wen Pin

Abstract This study examines the impact of fake news discourse on perceptions of news media credibility. If participants are told they have been exposed to fake news, does this lead them to trust information institutions less, including the news media? Study 1 (n = 188) found that news media credibility decreased when participants were told they saw fake news, while news credibility did not change when participants were told they saw real news. Study 2 (n = 400) found that those who saw fake news – and were told they saw a fake news post – decreased their trust in the news media while those who saw fake news and were not debriefed did not change their perceptions of the news media. This shows that the social impact of fake news is not limited to its direct consequences of misinforming individuals, but also includes the potentially adverse effects of discussing fake news.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512091684
Author(s):  
Jianing Li ◽  
Min-Hsin Su

This article studies “fake news” beyond the consumption and dissemination of misinformation and disinformation. We uncover how the term “fake news” serves as a discursive device for ordinary citizens to consolidate group identity in everyday political utterances on Twitter. Using computational linguistic and network analyses, we demonstrate that over the period of 2016–2018, there is an uptrend in the use of identity language in US Twitter users’ discussions about “fake news,” manifested by the increased frequency of group pronouns in combination with issues and sentiments that boost one’s ingroup and derogate the outgroup. Furthermore, as opposed to the conventional wisdom that “fake news” is a right-wing term, we uncover two disconnected retweet networks surrounding liberal and conservative opinion leaders. Like-minded individuals selectively amplify ingroup messages to claim the power to define falsehood and make group-serving blame attributions. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings and offer new directions for future research on “fake news,” misinformation, and disinformation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 687-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Al-Rawi

This study analyzes mainstream media (MSM) coverage of fake news discourse and compares it with social networking sites (SNS) users who reference the term “fakenews” in their tweets. The study employs computational methods by analyzing over 8 million tweets and 1,350 news stories using topic modeling. Building on the theory of (networked) gatekeeping and Herman and Chomsky’s propaganda model, the results show that SNS users follow networked gatekeeping practices by mostly associating fake news references to the alleged bias of MSM. On the other hand, MSM coverage tends to link fake news to SNS’s negative role in spreading misinformation. I argue here that there is a networked flak activity on Twitter which is defined as a collective negative response to MSM in order to discipline it, change its tone and editorial stance, or undermine the public’s trust in it.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mutiu Iyanda Lasisi ◽  
Umar Olansile Ajetunmobi ◽  
Muhammed Jamiu Mustapha

Abstract Fake news seems to be the monster of the century affecting continents of the world. From Africa to Asia, America to the Himalayas, the impact of fake news on national unity and regional cohesion remains debatable among scholars and experts. Like other countries on the African continent, Nigeria has tasted and is still having share of the consequences of fake news, especially politically-driven ones, which has been researched by scholars in the media and emerging technologies spaces. This study joins the conversation within the journalism and fake news discourse using big data that emerged from selected political, security, health and religious fake news reported by selected Nigerian newspapers. Adopting Computational and Quantitative Content Analyses with the specific use of Data Logging Approach for data collection, the study investigates the extent to which the Nigerian public consume and spread the select news at the expense of promoting national unity and regional cohesion expected of citizens, as established in the Nigerian constitution and existing rules guiding public communication in the country. The emerging results point towards the need for the establishment of Media Literacy Commission to complement the efforts of ministries saddled with the responsibility of re-orientating journalists, media establishments and citizens on national consciousness and unity. The outcomes of the study also indicate the need for overhauling of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) towards balanced and connected promotion of national values and norms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 430-451
Author(s):  
Maria Ivete Trevisan Fossá ◽  
Kauane Andressa Müller

This work aims to understand Projeto Comprova as a legitimation strategy of the journalistic field. We also propose an initial approach with the crosscheck experience, during the debate about fake news. The principal strategy used in this case is credibility, which is obtained in a deal between journalism and society. This deal allows a trust relationship. At Projeto Comprova, there is a concern in detail the verification process, which causes a modification in the narrative order. Besides, in the fake news context, the idea of news itself changed in checking business. In the digital ambience, there is a modification in the narrative built with emphasis in the verification of facts or data: if the journalistic companies classify some information as false, it becomes news.Este estudo tem por objetivo compreender o Projeto Comprova como estratégia de legitimação do campo jornalístico e propor uma primeira aproximação com a experiência de checagem cruzada, em meio ao debate sobre notícias falsas. A principal estratégia acionada nesse caso é a de credibilidade, obtida num acordo entre jornalismo e sociedade, que permite que seja estabelecida uma relação de confiança. No Projeto Comprova, há uma preocupação por detalhar o processo de apuração, causando uma modificação de ordem narrativa. Além disso, a partir da noção de fake news, modifica-se a própria ideia do que é notícia em iniciativas de checagem, de modo que a narrativa construída com ênfase no processo de apuração de fatos ou de dados na ambiência digital transforma a classificação de uma informação como falsa pelas organizações jornalísticas na própria notícia.Este trabajo tiene como objetivo comprender el Projeto Comprova como estrategia de legitimación del entorno periodístico y proponer una primera aproximación con la experiencia de chequeo cruzado, en medio a discusiones sobre noticias falsas. La principal estrategia accionada es la de credibilidad, obtenida en un acuerdo entre periodismo y sociedad, que permite establecer una relación de confianza. En Projeto Comprova, hay la preocupación en detallar el proceso de apuración, lo que causa una modificación de orden narrativo. Además, a partir de la noción de fake news, se cambia la propia idea de lo que es noticia en espacios de chequeo, de modo que la narración construida con énfasis en el proceso de apuración de hechos o de datos en el ambiente digital transforma la clasificación de una información por las empresas periodísticas como falsa en la propia noticia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Bartsch ◽  
David Estes

Abstract In challenging the assumption of autistic social uninterest, Jaswal & Akhtar have opened the door to scrutinizing similar unexamined assumptions embedded in other literatures, such as those on children's typically developing behaviors regarding others’ minds and morals. Extending skeptical analysis to other areas may reveal new approaches for evaluating competing claims regarding social interest in autistic individuals.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document