Journalism has little purpose if it is not trusted by the public it is meant to serve, so public engagement and public trust are inseparable in the networked world of digital journalism. Engaged journalists are starting to ask, “How can we help people trust each other?”
People think they're good at detecting disinformation, but most people actually aren't. A group of researchers searches for the best way to help users steer clear of online deception campaigns.
If policymakers care about a vibrant news media, they need to ensure the freedom, funding, and future of independent professional journalism.
We fall sway to fake news because it grabs our attention through outlandish claims, suggests false memories and contains appeals to our emotions that align with our politics.
When it comes to news literacy, schools often emphasize fact-checking and hoax-spotting. But schools must go deeper with how they teach the subject if they want to help students thrive in a democratic society.
Whether due to Trump or unhappiness with the mainstream media, Americans say that they are avoiding the news more than before.
With the polarization of America’s media and politics reaching a fever pitch, many news consumers – “worn out by a fog of political news,” as a recent New York Times feature put it – are responding by tuning out altogether. Media distrust, which has intensified globally in recent years, is also a likely factor. A recent Gallup poll found only 13% of Americans trust the media “a great deal,” while 28% indicated that they trust the media “a fair amount.” However, evidence suggests a more favorable situation for local journalism.
Recent years have not been kind to journalism. In Canada, there are numerous examples of reduced work schedules and publication closures, along with other signs of decline.
The founder of Journalist’s Resource, examines the forces that are misleading Americans and pitting them against each other: politicians for whom deception is a strategy; talk show hosts who have made an industry of outrage; foreign agents and social media operatives who spread disinformation to promote a cause, make a buck or simply amuse themselves.
The old expression that “all politics is local,” if it ever was true, certainly no longer holds true today, an LSU expert said Monday. “These nationalizing trends have very much come to Louisiana politics,” said Joshua Darr, an assistant professor of political communication at LSU.