Countering disinformation: enhancing journalistic legitimacy in public service media

关于政治和公共事务的虚假信息的增加对许多国家的民主治理构成了生死存亡的威胁。毕竟，民主有赖于公民能够获得准确可靠的信息来源，以便对他们应该如何治理做出判断。但近年来，公众对新闻的信任度有所下降，新闻业的合法性受到了破坏。该项目将与领先的公共服务媒体(BBC、ITV、Channel 4和Channel 5)和一家商业新闻机构(Sky News)合作，开展迄今为止英国最深入的比较研究，分析虚假信息报道，并批判性地检查新闻用户对此的反应。通过与高级编辑合作，确定电视、在线和社交媒体平台在哪里可以更有效地打击虚假信息并传播这种报道，该项目的目标将是以更好地服务于公民民主需求的方式增强新闻合法性。从国家对其他国家竞选活动的干预到民粹主义政治候选人、政党和运动的新兴影响，当今媒体和传播环境的基础设施开辟了操纵和扰乱信息流的新方法。因此，“后真相政治”或“假新闻”等术语已成为不断变化的政治环境、可疑虚假信息的日益增多以及当代新闻业合法性危机的代名词。无论是马其顿青少年为了影响美国大选而编造“新闻”，还是乌克兰政府谎称一名记者已被俄罗斯军队杀害，虚假信息的来源很广，从民主国家进入外交游戏，到普通公民背信弃义或为了经济利益。尽管公民可能已经在网上接触到虚假信息，无论是在Facebook上分享的故事还是在Twitter上被点赞的故事，但正如研究显示的那样，大多数人更有可能遇到来自BBC等主流媒体机构的虚假信息。这是因为传统媒体仍然是最广泛消费和最具影响力的信息来源，公共服务媒体制作的新闻经常被选为英国代表性调查中最受信任的媒体。然而，党派新闻和虚假信息在网络和社交媒体平台上的兴起创造了回音室和过滤泡沫，越来越多地破坏公共服务媒体制作新闻的合法性。为了确保公共服务媒体被视为进入21世纪的可信新闻来源，在快速变化的媒体生态中，它们的虚假信息报道满足公民的需求是至关重要的。该项目将采访英国主要公共服务媒体和天空新闻的高级编辑人员，通过电视、在线和社交媒体对其新闻进行深入的内容分析，并与新闻用户开展18个焦点小组。这项研究的目的将是找到在常规报道中打击虚假信息的编辑解决方案，确定根据新闻用户的说法提高新闻合法性的方法。从国家宣传到政客的可疑说法，我们的项目将评估如何更有效地挑战和传播此类虚假信息，以加强和促进公民中的新闻合法性。我们将与广播公司密切合作，了解他们的虚假信息报道，并讨论新闻用户是否将其视为合法新闻。该项目的调查结果将在我们的大学网络和大众媒体上广泛宣传，我们将通过公开和私下的会议和活动与相关利益攸关方接触，如记者、监管者、政治家、政策制定者和公民。

The rise of disinformation about politics and public affairs represents an existential threat to democratic governance in many countries. After all, democracy rests on citizens having access to accurate and reliable information sources in order to make judgments about how they should be governed. But over recent years public trust in the news has declined and the legitimacy of journalism has been undermined. In collaboration with leading public service media (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) and a commercial news organisation (Sky News), this project will develop the most in-depth UK comparative study to date that analyses disinformation reporting and critically examines how news users respond to it. By working collaboratively with senior editors to identify where TV, online and social media platforms can more effectively counter disinformation and communicate this reporting, the aim of the project will be to enhance journalistic legitimacy in ways that better serve the democratic needs of citizens.From state interference in other countries' election campaigns to the emergent influence of populist political candidates, parties and movements, the infrastructure of today's media and communication environment has opened up new ways of manipulating and disrupting flows of information. As a consequence terms such as 'post-truth politics' or 'fake news' have become synonymous with the changing political environment, the growing supply of dubious disinformation and a crisis in the legitimacy of contemporary journalism. Whether teenage Macedonians inventing 'news' in order to influence the US elections or the Ukrainian government falsely declaring a journalist had been killed by Russian forces, the source of disinformation can range widely from democratic states entering into diplomatic games to private citizens acting duplicitously or for financial gain. While citizens may have been exposed to disinformation online, whether from a story being shared on Facebook or liked on Twitter, most - as research has shown - will be more likely to encounter disinformation from mainstream media organisations, such as the BBC. This is because legacy media remain the most widely consumed and influential information sources, with news produced by public service media often singled out for being the most trusted in representative UK surveys. However, the rise of partisan news and disinformation across online and social media platforms has created echo chambers and filter bubbles that are increasingly undermining the legitimacy of news produced by public service media. In order to ensure public service media are viewed as a credible news source into the 21st century, it is essential that their disinformation reporting addresses the needs of citizens in a fast-changing media ecology.The project will interview senior editorial staff at leading public service media and Sky News in the UK, develop an in-depth content analysis of their news across TV, online and social media, and carry out 18 focus groups with news users. The aim of the study will be to find editorial solutions to countering disinformation in routine reporting, identifying the ways in which the legitimacy of journalism can be enhanced according to news users. From state propaganda to dubious claims made by politicians, our project will assess how such disinformation can be more effectively challenged and communicated in ways that reinforce and promote journalistic legitimacy among citizens. We will work closely with broadcasters to understand their disinformation reporting and discuss whether it is viewed as legitimate journalism by news users. The project's findings will be promoted widely across our university networks and in popular media, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, such as journalists, regulators, politicians, policy makers and citizens, through public and private meetings and events.