Internet new dimensions: ¿information resources or propaganda? The war online and journalism

Abstract

The emergence of the new technologies of information, and among them the internet playing an important role, has proven to be a new media challenge for the journalists and the researchers in communication and documentation. From this perspective, the historic events that have occurred in the last decades have witnessed those technologic advances that compromise the journalist profession to be done under the code of ethics imposed. This article is focused on presenting the evolution of the so called netwar, starting with the Iraq invasion, which was the starting point of the repercussion of the internet; from now on, a new dimension of war is being discussed, the netwar. Examples of the use of internet are exposed both on the behalf of the journalists and from the citizen point of view searching new interpretations on weblogs, on webpages of official institutions or on the new pages of people who were pro or con the war. The second part of the article analyses the evolution of the Islamic terrorism and the impact that internet has globally, turning to be a big advantage in the conquest of both land and followers by radical groups such as the Islamic State. In this context, it is highlighted the essential role that a journalist has when comes to differentiate between good information that should be spread or a type of propaganda that is going to be in favor of the opposite side.