Journalistic interventions: The structural factors affecting the global emergence of fact-checking

Abstract

Since the emergence of FactCheck.org in the United States in 2003, fact-checking interventions have expanded both domestically and globally. The Duke Reporter’s Lab identified nearly 100 active initiatives around the world in 2016. Building off of previous exploratory work by Amazeen, this research utilizes the framework of critical juncture theory to examine why fact-checking interventions are spreading globally at this point in time. Seen as a professional reform movement in the journalistic community, historical research on reform movements suggests several possible factors influencing the emergence of fact-checking such as a decline in journalism, easy access to technology for the masses, and socio-political strife. This study offers empirical support that fact-checking may be understood as a democracy-building tool that emerges where democratic institutions are perceived to be weak or are under threat and examines similarities between the growth of fact-checking interventions and previous consumer reform movements. As politics increasingly adopts strategies orchestrated by marketing and advertising consultants and agencies – exemplified in the Brexit referendum – political fact-checking may benefit from examining the path of consumer reform movements. For, before fact-checking can be effective at informing individuals, it must first establish itself within a structural environment.

How Do They Debunk “Fake News”? A Cross-National Comparison of Transparency in Fact Checks

“…Although it is controversial whether disinformation has actually influenced voter behavior (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017;Fletcher, Cornia, Graves, & Nielsen, 2018;Nelson & Taneja, 2018), policy-makers, journalists and scholars have raised questions about how the problem of online disinformation can be solved (High level Group on fake news and online disinformation, 2018). To combat attempts at manipulation and to debunk false information, an increasing number of fact-checking platforms have appeared in recent years (Amazeen, 2017;Ciampaglia, 2017;Haigh, Haigh, & Kozak, 2017;Thorson, 2016;Young, Jamieson, Poulsen, & Goldring, 2018). The first fact-checking organizations were launched in the US in the early 2000s.…”

Et retorisk perspektiv på faktatjek

“…Siden starten af det nye årtusinde er faktatjek blevet en stadig mere etableret del af den politiske journalistik og debat. Journalistikforskningen har beskrevet både udbredelsen (Spivak 2010, Graves og Cherubini 2016, Graves 2016, Lowrey 2017, organiseringen (Graves og Cherubini 2016, Graves 2018) og den potentielle effekt (Amazeen 2013, Nyhan og Reifler 2015, ligesom man har diskuteret mediernes mulighed for at genopbygge trovaerdig-hed gennem den nye genre (Eide 2012, Amazeen 2017. Hverken journalistikforskningen eller den journalistiske praksis har dog forholdt sig mere nuanceret til, hvilken forståelse af viden og fakta faktatjekformatet er funderet i, og hvilke konsekvenser det har for udøvelsen af genren og dens mulighed for at bidrage til en bedre politisk debat.…”

“…Hvor Martin Eide lidt forsigtigt taler om en "journalistisk nyorientering" og en "professionalisering" såvel som en mulig "profilering" af journalistikken (Eide 2012:176), betegner Graves og Cherubini faktatjek som en "ny demokratisk institution" (Graves og Cherubini 2016:1). Amazeen går så langt som til at kalde det en "bedre form for journalistik", en "professionel reformbevaegelse" og et "demokratiopbyggende vaerktøj", som opstår, når demokratiske institutioner bliver betragtet som svage (Amazeen 2017). Hvad angår arbejdsmetoder, laegges der vaegt på det at kunne dokumentere og verificere, altså klassiske journalistiske arbejdsmetoder.…”

Uso del móvil y las redes sociales como canales de verificación de fake news. El caso de Maldita.es

“…Los procesos de verificación se han convertido en una apuesta periodística (Marcos-Recio, 2017), con herramientas específicas (Amazeen, 2017;Boididou et al, 2018), y han surgido plataformas con este fin como FactCheck.org, Snopes, Politifact, First Draft, Crosscheck, Verificado2018 o Newtral. También se han creado desde asociaciones y colegios oficiales de periodismo guías de verificación para los profesionales.…”