scholarly journals Stop studying “fake news” (we can still fight against disinformation in the media)

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-30
Author(s):  
Benjamin Krämer
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Automatic Detection ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Sociology Of Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
The Media ◽  
Methodological Problems

The problem of “fake news” has received considerable attention both in public discourse and in scholarship. However, many have argued that the term should be avoided for ideological reasons or because it lacks clarity. At the same time, a growing body of literature investigates “fake news” empirically. We complement this discussion by reflecting on epistemological and methodological problems with the term “fake news” and the implications for possible solutions to the problem of disinformation such as automatic detection and increased media literacy. Based on the principle of symmetry established in the sociology of scientific knowledge, we show that a classification of messages according to the researcher’s assessment of their truthfulness can lead to biased or tautological explanations. We argue that many researchers commit themselves to the truth or falsehood of messages in cases where they should not and avoid such a commitment when it is necessary.

scholarly journals Media and Health – “Angel and Devil”

In medias res ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (18) ◽  
pp. 2803-2811
Author(s):  
Ivana Marasović Šušnjara ◽  
Maja Vejić
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Bad News ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Media ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Credible Information

All media have been flooded with news related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Top scientists have been addressing the public more frequently than ever before. In addition to positive attitudes, there have also been negative ones. In the midst of the pandemic, information about health systems that cannot respond adequately, a large number of deaths, and the lack of vaccines provoked a number of unwanted reactions, such as fear and associated disorders. Bad news kept coming. They were followed by conspiracy theories. Certain groups set out to find information they wanted to accept as true on various social networks. Should the media be allowed to inform about health without check, should they be allowed to pass on “fake news” in the domain of illness and health, or even manipulate information? They shouldn’t? In order to minimize the negative impacts, there should be mutual responsibility of experts and the media in presenting health-related topics and in disseminating useful and credible information, whereby the media literacy of the end users is indispensable.

scholarly journals Fake News

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
False Information ◽  
The Subject

Fake news has been the subject of a rapid research response, from a range of fields, given its impact on multiple sectors, the public sphere, and everyday life. The most prominent areas and disciplines contributing research and academic writing on fake news have been journalism, media and cultural studies, media literacy, politics, technology, and education. Whilst the concept is part of a broader concern with misinformation, the term “fake news” came to widespread public attention during the 2016 US presidential election. During the campaign, inaccurate social media posts were spread to large groups of users, a form of “viral” circulation found most prominently on the Facebook platform. A subsequent investigation discovered a large quantity of the posts were generated in the town of Veles in Macedonia, leading to concerns about the automated factory production of messages, including by “bots.” A key development in the use of the term “fake news” was Donald Trump’s adoption of it, following his election, as a negative description of unfavorable media coverage, going so far as to respond to unwanted questions from reporters in press conferences with “you’re fake news.” Fake news is a recent development in a long-established area of persuasive, misleading, or disproportionate mass communication. Research into fake news and analysis of it can be broken down into a set of categories. Political fake news is intended to misinform and influence (a contemporary form of propaganda). Strategic “cyberwarfare” by one nation on another may include spreading false information through fake social media accounts, authored by “bots.” Commercial fake news operates in the form of “clickbait,” whereby advertising revenue is attracted and combined with the economic affordances of user data trading. It is important to recognize that multinational digital corporations integrate this kind of communication into their business models. The distinctive impact of fake news has been to destabilize mainstream news media and provoke a crisis of trust in journalism, contributing to polarized public discourse and an increase in discriminatory communication. Research into fake news and the broader “information disorder” has explored fake news as propaganda, the role of technology, algorithms, and data harnessing in the spreading of fake news; fake news as an existential threat to journalism; fake news as part of the process of undermining or challenging democracy; protection from fake news through verification or “fact-checking” tools and more sustainable, longer term educational approaches to developing resilience to misinformation through media literacy. The term “fake news,” however, has been the subject of disagreement, with journalists, policymakers, educators, and researchers arguing either that it presents an oxymoron as false information cannot be categorized as news as defined by journalistic codes of practice (and thus plays into the hands of those who wish to undermine mainstream media) or that it assumes a “false binary” between real and fake, ignoring the gatekeeping agendas at work in all news production.

Media Literacy and Fake News

2019 ◽  
pp. 163-176
Author(s):  
Tracy Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Knowing How ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fact Checking

“Fake news” isn't a new phenomenon, but it began trending in 2016 during a contentious presidential election. Particularly with the rise of social media, people saw the dangerous impact this movement had, and continues to have on society. People easily bought into false stories, shared them online and even acted on them. Because of this, the importance of fact checking and analysis has surged, and the responsibility falls on both news consumers and practitioners. Additionally, the term fake news has been used repeatedly to inaccurately label news that people do not agree with or do not like. By learning to identify the differences between truth, satire, falsity, dislike, error, and learning why fake news has gone viral, individuals can enhance their media literacy skills. This will in turn improve the media landscape because news consumers will be required to become proficient in knowing how to produce, interpret, and share news in an ethical and honest way.

scholarly journals CURRENT TENDENCIES FORDEVELOPING MEDIA LITERACY IN FLANDERS (BELGIUM)

2020 ◽  
pp. 227-230
Author(s):  
Olena FUCHYLA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Restrictive Measures

Introduction. In the modern world of digi-tal technologies media literacy has become theimportanttopic of the discussions of politicians in many countries while they are discussing media in general and digital media or the Internet in particular. Taking into account the tendency to European Union which distinguishes our country and for the successful development of media literacy in it, it could be useful to know about the peculiar-ities of the development of this strategy in other European countries and to analyze their achievements and draw-backs. The country of our interest is Belgium which is located in the heart of Europe and concentrate many common features of European politics. The purpose of the article is to analyze the tendencies of introducing media literacy into educational strategies of Flanders (Belgium) and reveal the expediencyof the use of Flanders experience while regulating the educational system of Ukraine.The methods of analysis, synthesis and comparisonare used in the article.Results.Considering the debates in Flemish govern-ment directed towards choosing the best way of imple-menting the media literacy policies, it can be stated that first attempts were made after the dramatic development of the digital technologies. Digital media became more commonly used by citizens of different age and social status, so the issue of protecting them from different nega-tive effects of media, that is, fake news, brutality etc. should fit to a new reality. The instrument of such protec-tion would be media literacy instead of restrictive measures of the government, the latter being considered an ineffective policy. Shifting the responsibility to consum-ers became a goodpractice, but under the condition that they are provided with necessary skills which are of a much wider range that digital skills/ Moreover, media literacy should necessarily include the skills in construct-ing media connecting knowledge of media background and its practical implementation via creating new media products and so understanding their artificial nature.Originality. This research has been done for the first time with the use of original literature sources. Conclusion.Having analyzed different tendencies in policies of implementing media literacy in Flanders (Bel-gium) the author can conclude that during last decades there has been a considerable shift in attitude to media literacy there. Having noticed, that restrictive measures directed to protect consumers from negative influence of media (fake news, violence, addiction etc.) did not act properly because of drastic changes of the media envi-ronment. It became more and more digitalized, and con-sumers have been included in the processes of its crea-tion. It meant that new approaches should be developed giving consumers knowledge and skills which could pro-tect them instead of law. The discussion on the issue are still taking place on the ministry level in Flanders, be-cause restrictive laws are easier to be voted, but making media literacy a part and parcel of a society culture pro-vides more self-confidence and responsibility to the citi-zens of a democratic state. This experience can be quite useful for choosing the correct way of the development and introduction of media literacy in Ukraine.

scholarly journals Perception of “Fake News” and Potentially Manipulative Content in Digital Media—A Generational Approach

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Dragana Trninić ◽  
Anđela Kuprešanin Vukelić ◽  
Jovana Bokan
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Media ◽  
Online Access

The presence of “fake news” and potentially manipulative content in the media is nothing new, but this area has largely expanded with the emergence of the Internet and digital media, thus opening itself up to anyone who has online access. As a result, there is an increasing amount of such content in the media, especially in digital media. This paper deals with the perception of fake news and potentially manipulative content by various generations—in particular, the perceptions of the young and the middle-aged generations, with the focus being on their ability to recognise, verify, and relate to such content. The results of this study were gained by means of a qualitative methodology applied to focus groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results are presented through a thematic analysis of the differences in perception of “fake news” between these generations, firstly in terms of their apprehension and interpretation of it, and secondly in terms of their relation to it. The authors conclude that both generations lack competence concerning media literacy, and that providing education in the field of digital media might offer a long-term solution for building resistance to “fake news” for future generations.

scholarly journals Fake News Reaching Young People on Social Networks: Distrust Challenging Media Literacy

Publications ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Ana Pérez-Escoda ◽  
Luis Miguel Pedrero-Esteban ◽  
Juana Rubio-Romero ◽  
Carlos Jiménez-Narros
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Young People ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Generation Z ◽  
The Media ◽  
Special Concern

Current societies are based on huge flows of information and knowledge circulating on the Internet, created not only by traditional means but by all kinds of users becoming producers, which leads to fake news and misinformation. This situation has been exacerbated by the pandemic to an unprecedented extent through social media, with special concern among young people. This study aims to provide significant data about the youngest generation in Spain (Generation Z) regarding their media and information consumption, their social network use, and their relationship with fake news, all in relation to the feeling of reliability/trust. Focusing on a convenience sample of 408 young Spanish students from Generation Z aged 18 to 22, a descriptive exploratory study is presented. Data collection was performed with an adapted questionnaire. Results show that young Spanish people use networks for information, showing a surprising lack of trust in social networks as the media they consume the most. The content they consume the most since the occurrence of COVID-19 is related to politics, entertainment, humor, and music. On the other hand, distrust of politicians, media, and journalists is evident. The conclusion is that media literacy is still more necessary than ever, but with the added challenge of mistrust: maybe it is time to rethink media literacy.

Media Literacy and Fake News

2018 ◽  
pp. 255-268
Author(s):  
Tracy Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Knowing How ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fact Checking

“Fake news” isn't a new phenomenon, but it began trending in 2016 during a contentious presidential election. Particularly with the rise of social media, people saw the dangerous impact this movement had, and continues to have on society. People easily bought into false stories, shared them online and even acted on them. Because of this, the importance of fact checking and analysis has surged, and the responsibility falls on both news consumers and practitioners. Additionally, the term fake news has been used repeatedly to inaccurately label news that people do not agree with or do not like. By learning to identify the differences between truth, satire, falsity, dislike, error, and learning why fake news has gone viral, individuals can enhance their media literacy skills. This will in turn improve the media landscape because news consumers will be required to become proficient in knowing how to produce, interpret, and share news in an ethical and honest way.

Behind the Post-Truth World

2020 ◽  
pp. 139-161
Author(s):  
Daniel Martínez-Ávila ◽  
Mariana Rodrigues Gomes de Mello ◽  
Ellen Valotta Elias Borges ◽  
Selma Leticia Capinzaiki Ottonicar
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Theory Of Knowledge ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Literacy Theory ◽  
Power Games

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss information and media literacy from a philosophical perspective. This kind of discussion is important because it brings together scientific knowledge and philosophy. The authors base their arguments on some discussions about the Theory of Knowledge, such as the problem of truth, as well as philosophers such as Nietzsche and Foucault. This chapter is interdisciplinary, and it results in the evolution of information and media literacy theory. This chapter also aims to consider the power games that encourage fake news. These games are influenced by ideological aspects of the post-truth world.

scholarly journals The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Tweet: How #NotTheEnemy Twitter Discourse Defended the Journalistic Paradigm

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-210
Author(s):  
Kelsey N. Whipple ◽  
Jeremy L. Shermak
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
American People ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Quantitative Content ◽  
The Press ◽  
American Journalism ◽  
The Media ◽  
National Significance ◽  
Method Approach

When U.S. President Donald Trump called the press the “enemy of the American people” and “FAKE NEWS” in a February 2017 tweet, his statement inspired a robust debate about the credibility, institutional norms, and national significance of the press, which were debated on social media by both journalists and non-journalists using the popular hashtag #NotTheEnemy. Because previous research suggests that elite discourse of “fake news” decreases public trust in the press, this tweet presented a unique danger to the journalistic paradigm and public trust in American journalism. Through a mixed-method approach combining quantitative content analysis and qualitative textual analysis, this research explores the major themes and dominant sentiments of this public discourse about the press and analyzes #NotTheEnemy’s contributions to reinforcing the journalistic paradigm in the wake of the president’s attack and its impact on American public opinion of and trust in the media.

Recognition of fake news in sports

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (4s) ◽  
pp. 18-27
Author(s):  
Petko Dimov
Keyword(s):  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Information Space ◽  
Gradual Transition ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Sports Media ◽  
The World ◽  
Sports Information ◽  
The Media

This report examines the phenomenon of “fake news” and the influence which disinformation has in the contemporary sports information space. The problem, regarding their wide spread in the contemporary information space and their gradual transition from political life to the world of sports, leads to the necessity of defining and classifying fake news in the sports information space in order to offer a mechanism for their recognition and a practical tool supporting this activity. In the age of fake news, sports stars need security and real connections with the media to improve their performance. With the help of the literary analysis of the specialized sources, examples of disinformation in sports stories have been found, and consequently definitions of fake news, propaganda and disinformation have been proposed. After a review of specialized sources, a classification of ten types of fake news in sports has been made, giving real examples from the lives of Bulgarian athletes. Hence, a simplified seven-step algorithm has been developed to support users' critical thinking and decision-making when evaluating news in the media space. As a result of the proposed classification of “fake news” in sports and the created algorithm, a practical online tool has been created which would help the analysis of given information and the recognition of signs of fake news in online sports media. The tool has been created with the help of the HTML programming language HTML in the form of a webpage which is accessible from anywhere in the world. It is a set of applications that identify all types of fake content in the contemporary information space. This tool can be used to improve the security of athletes and even their game performance.

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