© UNESCO and The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash
Journalism, 'Fake News' and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training
This new publication by UNESCO is a timely resource and highly topical subject for all those who practice or teach journalism in this Digital Age.
Module One: Truth, Trust and Journalism
Truth, Trust and Journalism: Why it Matters
By Cherilyn Ireton
Synopsis
In many parts of the world, trust in media and journalism was fragile and weakening long before the advent of social media14. This trend is not separate from declining trust in institutions which has been a feature common in many societies. However, the sheer volume and reach of disinformation and misinformation, dressed up as news and distributed via social media, has inflicted a contagion that threatens further reputational damage to journalism. This has implications for journalists, news media, citizens and open societies.
In the high-speed information free-for-all on social media platforms and the internet, everyone can be a publisher. As a result, citizens struggle to discern what is true and what is false. Cynicism and distrust rule. Extreme views, conspiracy theories and populism flourish and once-accepted truths and institutions are questioned. In this world, newsrooms battle to claim and perform their historic role as gatekeepers whose product can help to establish the truth. At the same time, the rise of marketplaces for “strategic communications” and “information operations”, including active disinformation and mal-information, has become a major factor in the information ecosystem
Return to home page of Journalism, 'Fake News' and Disinformation