scholarly journals The Online Media Landscape in the Focus of Disinformation Campaigns in the Western Balkans: Albania, Kosova, and North Macedonia

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
Edlira PALLOSHI DISHA ◽  
Demush BAJRAMI ◽  
Agron RUSTEMI
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
The Public ◽  
Professional Credibility ◽  
The Media ◽  
False News

In the conditions of a technological transformation of the media, professional credibility and reliability in information are fading due to the manipulative role that the media have taken. This paper, among other things, highlights exactly the editorial lines of the media, which do not build them on principles based on professional cause, but rather on the causes of political-media oligarchies. The fake news industry in the world is currently the most profitable product, and this is the most serious threat to democracies, which cannot be properly consolidated without a regulation in the dense "traffic" of online communication. In this industry Russia leads with its Sputnik, which has created a widespread establishment in the media space of Central and Eastern Europe. Preventing of this media "pandemic" is extremely complicated and costly, because this type of information is camouflaged in various forms and the public needs a proper media education to identify and differentiate fake news from true ones. Therefore, it is very necessary to create a national strategy of each state, to prevent the spread of this media "pandemic", while the most effective "virus" is the professionalization of the media and its detachment from the influence of political oligarchies. False news is creating its bedrock of influence and this is especially evident in the division of society as a result of political tensions and inter-ethnic discontent. Moreover, this paper shows that in such a divided society, the disinformation that circulates incessantly in the public space, sows fear. If a disinformation protection strategy were to be developed, then public confidence would not be in crisis, as it is currently in the Western Balkans, and the media would return to its primary role: independent and objective information.

The public and the private: reconfiguring the interrelationship during a civil act

2019 ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Natalia Kostenko
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Physical Interaction ◽  
Bare Life ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere

The subject matter of research interest here is the movement of sociological reflection concerning the interplay of public and private realms in social, political and individual life. The focus is on the boundary constructs embodying publicity, which are, first of all, classical models of the space of appearance for free citizens of the polis (H. Arendt) and the public sphere organised by communicative rationality (Ju. Habermas). Alternative patterns are present in modern ideas pertaining to the significance of biological component in public space in the context of biopolitics (M. Foucault), “inclusive exclusion of bare life” (G. Agamben), as well as performativity of corporeal and linguistic experience related to the right to participate in civil acts such as popular assembly (J. Butler), where the established distinctions between the public and the private are levelled, and the interrelationship of these two realms becomes reconfigured. Once the new media have come into play, both the structure and nature of the public sphere becomes modified. What assumes a decisive role is people’s physical interaction with online communication gadgets, which instantly connect information networks along various trajectories. However, the rapid development of information technology produces particular risks related to the control of communications industry, leaving both public and private realms unprotected and deforming them. This also urges us to rethink the issue of congruence of the two ideas such as transparency of societies and security.

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Llano
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Social Conflict ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Musical Practices ◽  
The Media ◽  
The City

As is described in this conclusion, more than the media and culture, Madrid’s public space constituted the primary arena where reactions and attitudes toward social conflict and inequalities were negotiated. Social conflict in the public space found expression through musical performance, as well as through the rise of noise that came with the expansion and modernization of the city. Through their impact on public health and morality, noise and unwelcomed musical practices contributed to the refinement of Madrid’s city code and the modernization of society. The interference of vested political interests, however, made the refining of legislation in these areas particularly difficult. Analysis of three musical practices, namely, flamenco, organilleros, and workhouse bands, has shown how difficult it was to adopt consistent policies and approaches to tackling the forms of social conflict that were associated with musical performance.

More than “Fake News”?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Rossini ◽  
Jennifer Stromer-Galley ◽  
Ania Korsunska
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Public ◽  
Presidential Primary ◽  
The Media ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Abstract While the debate around the prevalence and potential effects of fake news has received considerable scholarly attention, less research has focused on how political elites and pundits weaponized fake news to delegitimize the media. In this study, we examine the rhetoric in 2020 U.S. presidential primary candidates Facebook advertisements. Our analysis suggests that Republican and Democratic candidates alike attack and demean the news media on several themes, including castigating them for malicious gatekeeping, for being out of touch with the views of the public, and for being a bully. Only Trump routinely attacks the news media for trafficking in falsehoods and for colluding with other interests to attack his candidacy. Our findings highlight the ways that candidates instrumentalize the news media for their own rhetorical purposes; further constructing the news media as harmful to democracy.

New Evidence of the Effect of Literacies in Reducing Disinformation and Fake News

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 300-333
Author(s):  
José Ricardo Ledur ◽  
Renato P. dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Fake News ◽  
9Th Grade ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
The Media ◽  
False News ◽  
New Evidence

Context: The production of scientific knowledge is not clearly understood by most individuals. In the information age, society faces challenges generated by discrediting institutions, including science, the proliferation of false news, disinformation and the relativisation of truth. These are significant issues that the school cannot refrain from discussing if it wants to educate for citizenship. Objectives: To investigate how conceptions about science influence and are influenced by fake news conveyed by the media and the contribution of literacy to minimise the effects of misinformation. Design: The methodology used in this research used a mixed-methods approach through content analysis of students’ responses combined with descriptive statistical techniques. Environment and participants: The research was carried out with 32 students, divided into two groups, attending the 9th grade of an elementary public school in Bom Princípio/RS. Data collection and analysis: Two questionnaires were applied: one for the conceptions about science and another to identify fake news. Results: Most students have a limited view of science and find it difficult to identify fake news through verification criteria. A correlation between student perceptions and the identification of false news was observed. Conclusions: Knowledge about science possibly enhances students’ perception of doubtful information. It is crucial to develop mediatic and information literacy skills as they can positively impact the identification of fake news and reduce its shares.

scholarly journals Discursive Deflection: Accusation of “Fake News” and the Spread of Mis- and Disinformation in the Tweets of President Trump

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630511877601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Ross ◽  
Damian J. Rivers
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Hillary Clinton ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Objective Truth ◽  
Reliable Source ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports

Twitter is increasingly being used within the sociopolitical domain as a channel through which to circulate information and opinions. Throughout the 2016 US Presidential primaries and general election campaign, a notable feature was the prolific Twitter use of Republican candidate and then nominee, Donald Trump. This use has continued since his election victory and inauguration as President. Trump’s use of Twitter has drawn criticism due to his rhetoric in relation to various issues, including Hillary Clinton, the size of the crowd in attendance at his inauguration, the policies of the former Obama administration, and immigration and foreign policy. One of the most notable features of Trump’s Twitter use has been his repeated ridicule of the mainstream media through pejorative labels such as “fake news” and “fake media.” These labels have been deployed in an attempt to deter the public from trusting media reports, many of which are critical of Trump’s presidency, and to position himself as the only reliable source of truth. However, given the contestable nature of objective truth, it can be argued that Trump himself is a serial offender in the propagation of mis- and disinformation in the same vein that he accuses the media. This article adopts a corpus analysis of Trump’s Twitter discourse to highlight his accusations of fake news and how he operates as a serial spreader of mis- and disinformation. Our data show that Trump uses these accusations to demonstrate allegiance and as a cover for his own spreading of mis- and disinformation that is framed as truth.

scholarly journals Stings and Scams: ‘Fake News,’ the First Amendment, and the New Activist Journalism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Dorf ◽  
Sidney Tarrow
Keyword(s):  
First Amendment ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Planned Parenthood ◽  
Investigative Reporting ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Media ◽  
Sting Operation

Constitutional law, technological innovations, and the rise of a cultural “right to know” have recently combined to yield “fake news,” as illustrated by an anti-abortion citizen-journalist sting operation that scammed Planned Parenthood. We find that the First Amendment, as construed by the Supreme Court, offers scant protection for activist journalists to go undercover to uncover wrongdoing, while providing substantial protection for the spread of falsehoods. By providing activists the means to reach sympathetic slices of the public, the emergence of social media has returned journalism to its roots in political activism, at the expense of purportedly objective and truthful investigative reporting. But the rise of “truthiness” — that is, falsehoods with the ring of truth, diffused through new forms of communication — threatens the integrity of the media. How to respond to these contradictions is a growing problem for advocates of free speech and liberal values more generally.

scholarly journals The Dangers of Hoaxes in Building Civil Society in the Era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-138
Author(s):  
Muhamad Basitur Rijal Gus Rijal ◽  
Ahyani Hisam ◽  
Abdul Basit
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Free Speech ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Public ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Ideal

Civil society (civil society) as the ideal structure of society's life that is aspired to, but building a civil society is not easy. There are preconditions that must be met by the community in making it happen. Coupled with technological advances in the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.o like today, where information can spread easily through various online media unlimitedly in spreading hoaxes. This research seeks to uncover the dangers of hoaxes in building civil society. This research uses descriptive analytical method by examining the sources of literature related to building civil society in the Industrial Revolution 4.o. This research found that the public space is a means of free speech; democratic behavior; tolerant; pluralism; and social justice can shape civil society. whereas the impact of hoax news greatly affects the way people perceive a certain issue, so that people cannot distinguish which news is real or fake news which causes them to be incited by fake news that is spread.

scholarly journals Tinjauan Hukum Kriminalisasi Berita Hoax: Menjaga Persatuan vs. Kebebasan Berpendapat

Kosmik Hukum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Cindy Bella Devina ◽  
Dissa Chandra Iswari ◽  
Go Christian Bryan Goni ◽  
Devi Kimberly Lirungan
Keyword(s):  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Abuse Of Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Media

The existence of hoaxes in Indonesia has been around for a long time. However, the term hoax was widespread and became part of daily conversations in the media and the public during the 2014 and 2019 Presidential Election. The rapid development of social media use and the ease of information exchange accelerated the spread of hoax. Even in the COVID-19 pandemic, hoax news about the corona virus and matters related to it are widespread in the community. This hoax news, both during the Election and the Covid-19 Outbreak, caused much unrest in the community. Some of the hoax news spreaders were jailed for violations of the ITE Law. Various legal practitioners and academics have also suggested that hoax news creators and spreaders be criminalized. This article reviews normatively whether the criminalization of hoax news is feasible for reasons of maintaining stability or needs to be eliminated to maintain freedom of opinion. The author reviews the normative aspects of criminalizing the creation and dissemination of hoax news by using Habermas' theory of deliberative democracy. Through this theory, the writer finds that hoax news makes aspects of democracy such as dialogue that is full of awareness and accurate information unattainable. This is also in line with what the Indonesian constitution wants. However, it is necessary to ensure that the criminalization of hoaxes is not used as an instrument of abuse of power considering that the circulation of hoaxes is a symptom of a problem rather than the root of the problem itself.Keywords: Fake News, Criminalization, Stability, Freedom of Speech, Deliberative Democracy, Legal Revuew

A Taxonomy Approach to Fake News

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Valchanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Communication Channels ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Media Corporations

The development of the Internet and social media and networks as a media environment and communication channels combined with the specificity of the journalistic profession in the online environment are a factor which contributes to the emergence and proliferation of fake news. The lack of reliable fact checking by the media and the fast news consumption by the public lead to mass disinformation about certain issues or subjects. The current paper examines fake news from several points of view and describes the models of their use – as harmless jokes, as lack of journalistic competence or professionalism and as means of manipulation and intentional misleading of public opinion. The attempts of big media corporations to fight fake news are also described.

THE CONCEPT OF FAKE NEWS AND AND ITS DETECTION BY MEANS OF COMMUNICATIVE THEORY

2021 ◽  
pp. 29-39
Author(s):  
M. І. Hordiichuk
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Word Combination ◽  
Argumentative Strategy ◽  
The Media ◽  
Hybrid War ◽  
Communicative Theory ◽  
False News ◽  
Perlocutionary Effect ◽  
Modern Era

The article studies the concept of “fake news,” focusing on researching its etymology and the scope of its meaning. The meaning of the concept of “fake news” is studied based on the contrast with the word combination“false news”. The coinages “post-truth” and “fake news” have been recognized as the words of the year by different dictionaries in the recent years, which contributes to the image of the present-day media. Various definitions of fake news of different scholars were analyzed. It was found that fake news are relatively easy in making and spreading due to the advancement of modern technologies. However, they disrupt the faith of readers in media, which stands for the need for the detection of fake news in mass media. Consequently, the detection of fake news has been acknowledged as a crucial skill in the modern era. The paper analyzes the ways communicative theory can be used in the detection of fake news in the media. Four main strategies were identified, namely argumentative, appellative, evaluative, and the strategy of optimizing of perlocutionary effect. Each of the strategies is applied in various ways in fake news making with the use of appropriate tactics within their scope. The argumentative strategy operates with the tactics of manipulation and detalization. Tactics of ideologization, appeal to addressees’ needs and retrospection are used within the appellative strategy. Evaluative strategy includes the tactics of positioning, discrediting the opponent and distancing. And within the strategy of optimizing of perlocutionary effect the tactics of emotion evocation, mnemonization and visualization are identified. The paper provides a theoretical background to all of these strategies. Also, their practical application in the media was analyzed based on the examples taken from the independent fact-checking organization “StopFake”. It was found that all of them are frequently used in the hybrid war against Ukraine to disrupt its official government, treaties with European partners, and provoke chaos within the state.

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