Misinformation,Disinformation and Reckoning in Journalism

Abstract

In this special issue, we examine the practice of journalism globally from a lens through which the power of journalism can be maintained and secured for the benefit of society, pushing back against misinformation and disinformation.

So much of the conversation of journalism these days is driven by the increasingly complex and ever-present challenges of misinformation and disinformation, especially about race, identity and inclusion. The practices of news production and modes of delivery, particularly social media, in what is often referred to as a new media landscape, raise nagging questions about who is a journalist and what is the role of journalism in societies around the world. How can traditional journalism fulfill its role in a world where misinformation and disinformation are frequent, and frequently consumed and shared?

For the sake of clarity, “Misinformation” in this essay “refers to information that is inaccurate and/or false, but where there is no intention to mislead …” while “Disinformation … refers to situations where actors deliberately, driven by political and/or economic interests, produce and distribute information intended to disinform for their own ends” (Westlund & Hermida, 2021).

Both have frightening impact on journalism and societies, as can be seen in the recent worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. presidential elections, the war in Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas (Jaiswal et al., 2020; Kreft et al., 2023; Sharma et al., 2022; Stănescu, 2023).

What should journalism practiced by professionals look like, compared to “news” consumed from other sources such as nontraditional websites? As valuable as alternative news platforms that have emerged may be (Figenschou & Ihlebæk, 2019; Sandoval & Fuchs, 2010), traditional journalism, with its focus on verification and accuracy, is as important as ever, although it too sometimes promotes misinformation and disinformation (Soares & Recuero, 2021).

We issued the call for submissions for this special issue of the journal with reference to 1968 Kerner Commission Report that admonished the American news media to improve its coverage of African Americans. Two decades earlier, The Commission on Freedom of the Press (1947, also known as the Hutchins Commissions) challenged the news media to practice socially responsible journalism by, among other things, being committed to accuracy and understanding. Yet, as we noted in the call for submissions, the Kerner Report, which examined media coverage of urban violence in the mid-sixties, found that “The media report and write from the standpoint of a white man's world” (Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, 1968). This narrow and inaccurate mainstream media perspective produced debilitating consequences in social, cultural and political arenas of society, particularly a lack of understanding and appreciation of the second largest population in the country at the time, African Americans, inaccuracies that continue to this day. While the admission of African Americans into mainstream news media, some ultimately reaching the highest levels of management, did improve coverage, misinformation and disinformation affecting race and race relations in the U.S. continues to the present, reverberating in the social justice movement on the one hand and political polarization on the other. As we noted in the call for submissions for this special issue, “Some 54 years after the Kerner Report, proponents of Critical Race Theory assert that American institutions—including the news media—operate from a foundation of systemic racism, an argument that many journalists who bring racial diversity to the newsrooms have maintained since they entered the profession. Today's racial reckoning builds on those notions, pushing for a more inclusive America.”

In some ways, much of the scholarship on misinformation and disinformation surrounding today's journalistic media is a manifestation of that reckoning globally, including the Global South. We examine journalism from a lens through which the power of journalism can be maintained and secured for the benefit of society. Quite honestly, we did not necessarily have the global focus in mind when we developed the title for the special issue, “News and Racial Reckoning: Electronic Journalism practices, production and presentation” but we are pleased that the global focus has emerged. While much of the recent research identifies 2016 as a starting point for the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, the truth—if we may use that term—is that when considered in the context of journalism history and current journalistic practice, misinformation and disinformation have always been with us, at home and abroad. Obvious past examples include government propaganda in news, whether in democratic societies or authoritarian societies. A review of literature shows considerable thoughtful scholarship on misinformation and disinformation in all aspects of media, from advertising, to entertainment, to news—which is the focus of this journal (Bebawi, 2022; Jones, 2022; Pype & Makaya, 2022; Wasserman & Madrid-Morales, 2022). The articles in this special issue expand that scholarship.

Each of the three articles in this special issue addresses journalistic misinformation and disinformation in a different region of the world—Africa, the Middle East and the United States. In Diversifying News Sources as Multicultural News Production: Critical Political Economy Approach to Sourcing Practices in Ethiopian Mainstream TV Channels, the authors Gizachew Nemomsa Eranfeno, Agaredech Jemaneh Gemeda, and Abdissa Zerai Bamano use Critical Political Economy Theory to examine the diversity of news sourcing in Ethiopian TV channels. They find that diversifying news sources does not necessarily mean diverse voices will be equally represented. This finding is similar to findings that increases in racial diversity in American newsrooms as advocated by the Kerner Report did not necessarily result in fair representation of African Americans. Eranfeno et al. raise structural questions about the practice of journalism and production of news in an authoritarian country, the same questions raised to get at the root of misinformation and disinformation in American journalism to improve the representation of African Americans in the United States.

In Iranian Sports Migration and the Gender Imbalance: Examining Emigration Framing of Elite Iranian Athletes by State-Run Media, authors Sean R. Sadri, Andrew C. Billings, and Mahdi Latififard compare coverage of elite Iranian athletes in state-run media in Iran with the coverage of elite Iranian athletes who have emigrated from the country and played elsewhere. The authors observe that state-run media persistently promote hegemonic masculinity agenda by providing significantly more coverage to male Iranian athletes compared to their female counterparts. This disparity in coverage reflects the state-run media's attempts to marginalize women athletes, which coincide with features of journalistic misinformation and disinformation.

In “Standard” Appearance and “Accentless” Speech: How Performance Neutrality Limits Diversity in Broadcast News, the author Elia Powers uncovered that the broadcast journalism industry promotes an on-air persona characterized by performance neutrality. This persona entails journalists adopting a standardized style of speech and attire to convey objectivity and appeal to a mainstream audience. The author argues that this approach detrimentally affects journalists from marginalized communities and reinforces the notion that traditional standards are the norm which creates a form of misinformation for the audience.

We hope this special issue of the journal will push us to critically think about the powerful role that misinformation and disinformation are playing through journalistic media, whether legacy media or social media platforms. As reckoning globally continues, more research addressing journalism's practice, place and possibilities is greatly needed.