The public sphere at the juncture: fragmentation, journalism’s crisis and disinformation
- María Iranzo-Cabrera Universitat de València https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6237-6041
- Dafne Calvo Universitat de València https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0659-6792
- Lidia Valera-Ordaz Universitat de València https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1085-980X
Abstract
Freedom of expression has been the right demanded in the public debate. New digital communication platforms and institutions (e.g., politics and conventional journalism) challenge the truth in the contemporary public sphere. Political polarization, media fragmentation, moral absolutism and the doubts raised on fact-checking contested knowledge for citizen decision-making, but, in turn, alternative media prove useful in raising counter-discourses against elites, intentional falsehoods and hate speeches. These practices in the current hybrid communication system seriously endanger public property (e.g., health and electoral processes).
Downloads
Author Biographies
María Iranzo-Cabrera es Profesora Ayudante Doctora de Periodismo en la Universitat de València, donde es responsable de la coordinación del grado. Imparte ‘Periodismo Multimedia’ y forma parte del equipo docente del Máster en Nuevos Periodismos, Comunicación Política y Sociedad del Conocimiento como especialista en periodismo y género. Es miembro del grupo de I+D+i Mediaflows, donde sus líneas de investigación se inscriben en el ámbito de la autorregulación periodística, el estudio del ciberactivismo feminista y el periodismo satírico.
Dafne Calvo es doctora en Comunicación y profesora de Periodismo en la Universitat de València. Ha realizado estancias en otros centros de investigación, especialmente de América Latina. Ha pertenecido a cinco proyectos i+D nacionales desde 2015 y sus investigaciones han recibido financiación de diversas instituciones públicas y privadas. Compatibiliza su trabajo académico con la colaboración en diversas producciones periodísticas, encuentros y eventos de divulgación. Sus intereses académicos se centran en la participación política, la comunicación digital y la cultura libre.
Lidia Valera es Profesora Titular de Periodismo en la Universidad de Valencia, donde imparte las asignaturas de ‘Estructura de la comunicación’ y ‘Periodismo político’. Pertenece al Grupo de Investigación Mediaflows y a la red internacional Media Research and Action Project, y ha participado en numerosos proyectos de investigación financiados por instituciones autonómicas, nacionales y europeas. Su investigación se centra en la comunicación política, la sociología de los medios y la esfera pública, y ha realizado estancias de investigación en universidades de Francia (Sciences Po, Université Paris 8) y Estados Unidos (Boston College, Suffolk University).
References
Amazeen, M. A. (2019). Practitioner perceptions: Critical junctures and the global emergence and challenges of fact-checking. International Communication Gazette, 81(6-8), 541-561. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048518817674
Andrejevic, M. (2013). Infoglut: How too much information is changing the way we think and know. Routledge.
Arendt, H. (1996). Entre el pasado y el futuro. Ocho ejercicios sobre la reflexión política. Ediciones Península.
Arias-Maldonado, M. (2020). A Genealogy of Post-Truth Democracies: Philosophy, Affects, Technology. Communication & Society, 33(2), 65-78. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.33.2.65-78
Arias-Maldonado, M. (2016). La democracia sentimental: Política y emociones en el siglo XXI. Página Indómita.
Barnett, S. (2022). Will a Crisis in Journalism Provoke a Crisis in Democracy? Political Quarterly, 73(4), 400-408. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.00494
Bennett, W. L., & Iyengar, S. (2008). A new era of minimal effects? The changing foundations of political communication. Journal of Communication, 58(4), 707–731. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.00410.x
Bennett, W. L., & Livingston, S. (2018). The disinformation order: Disruptive communication and the decline of democratic institutions. European Journal of Communication, 33(2), 122-139. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323118760317
Bimber, B., & Gil de Zúñiga, H. (2020). The unedited public sphere. New Media & Society, 22(4), 700-715. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819893980
Blekesaune, A., Elvestad, E., & Aalberg, T. (2012). Tuning out the world of news and current affairs. An empirical study of Europe’s disconnected citizens. European Sociological Review, 28(1), 110–126. https://bit.ly/3RcGxcZ
Brandtzaeg, P. B., & Følstad, A. (2017). Trust and distrust in online fact-checking services. Communications of the ACM, 60(9), 65-71. https://doi.org/10.1145/3122803
Burel, G., Farrell, T., Mensio, M., Khare, P., & Alani, H. (6-9 de octubre de 2020). Co-spread of Misinformation and Fact-Checking Content During the Covid-19 Pandemic. International Conference on Social Informatics, Pisa, Italia (pp. 28-42). Springer.
Calvo, D., Valera Ordaz, L., Requena i Mora, M., & Llorca Abad, G. (2022). Fact-cheking: perception and trust. Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies, 14(2), 287-305.
Carratalá, A. (2019). La criminalización de la transmisión de VIH en los medios: periodismo de sucesos entre el sensacionalismo y la homofobia. Revista Española de Comunicación en Salud, 38-51. https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2019.4462
Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (2022). Monitoring Media Pluralism in the Digital Area. European University Institute.
Clayton, K., Blair, S., Busam, J. A., Forstner, S., Glance, J., Green, G., Kawata, A., Kovvuri, A., Martin, J., Morgan, E., Sandhu, M., Sang, R., Scholz-Bright, R., Welch, A. T., Wolff, A. G., Coddington, M., Molyneux, L., & Lawrence, R. G. (2014). Fact checking the campaign: How political reporters use Twitter to set the record straight (or not). International Journal ofPress/ Politics, 19, 391–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161214540942
Cohen, N. S., Hunter, A., & O’Donnell, P. (2019) Bearing the burden of corporate restructuring: job loss and precarious employment in Canadian journalism. Journalism Practice, 13(7), 817-833. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2019.1571937
Couldry, N., & Rodríguez, C (diciembre de 2016). Medios y plataformas digitales: la cancha donde se juega la democracia. Nueva sociedad. https://bit.ly/3Sfxb1w
Dahlgren, P. (2018). Media, knowledge and trust: the deeping epistemic crisis of democracy. Javnost - The Public, 25(1-2), 20-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2018.1418819
Daniel, J., & Eberle, J. (2021). Speaking of hybrid warfare: Multiple narratives and differing expertise in the ‘hybrid warfare’ debate in Czechia. Cooperation and Conflict, 56(4), 432–453. https://doi.org/10.1177/00108367211000799
Dias, N., & Sippitt, A. (2020). Researching Fact Checking: Present Limitations and Future Opportunities. Political Quarterly, 91(3), 605-613. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.12892
Durandin, G. (1995). La información, la desinformación y la realidad. Paidós Ibérica.
European Comission (2022). European Media Freedom Act. 16 de septiembre de 2022. https://bit.ly/3CaYvZb
European University Institute, Suau, J, Ruiz, C., Capilla, P., Yeste, E., Puertas, D., Cordero, L., Agràs, J. (2022). Monitoring media pluralism in the digital era: application of the media pluralism monitor in the European Union, Albania, Montenegro, The Republich of North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey in the year 2021: country report Spain. European University Institute.: https://bit.ly/3fi1x4Q
Farhall, K., Carson, A., Wright, S., Gibbons, A., & Lukamto, W. (2019). Political Elites' Use of Fake News Discourse Across Communications Platforms. International Journal of Communication, 13, 4353-4375. https://bit.ly/3SfsPqZ
Froomkin, F. (2 de abril de 2021). As voting issue gets white-hot, political reporters try to duck the moral implications. Presswatchers. https://bit.ly/3LHDCb2
Goldman, S. K., & Mutz, D. C. (2011). The Friendly Media Phenomenon: A Cross National Analysis of Cross-Cutting Exposure. Political Communication, 28(1), 42-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2010.544280
Graves, L. (2017). Anatomy of a Fact Check: Objective Practice and the Contested Epistemology of Fact Checking. Communication, Culture and Critique, 10(3), 518-537. https://doi.org/10.1111/cccr.12163
Graves, L., & Cherubini, F. (2016). The Rise of Fact-Checking Sites in Europe. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Groshek, J., & Koc-Michalska, K. (2017). Helping populism win? Social media use, filter bubbles, and support for populist presidential candidates in the 2016 US election campaign. Information Communication and Society, 20(9), 1389-1407. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1329334
Hallin, D. y Mancini, P. (2004/2008). Sistemas mediáticos comparados: Tres modelos de relación entre los medios de comunicación y la política. Hacer.
Hameleers, M., & van der Meer, T. G. L. A. (2020). Misinformation and Polarization in a High-Choice Media Environment: How Effective Are Political Fact-Checkers? Communication Research, 47(2), 227-250. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650218819671
Han, B. (2022). Infocracia. La digitalización y la crisis de la democracia. Taurus.
Hearns-Branaman, J. O. (2016). Journalism and the philosophy of truth: Beyond objectivity and balance. Routledge.
Himma-Kadakas, M. (2017). Alternative facts and fake news entering journalistic content production cycle. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 9(2), 25-40. https://doi.org/10.5130/ccs.v9i2.5469
Hochschild, A. R. (2016). Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. The New Press.
Hodges, A. (2020). When words trump politics. Stanford University Press.
Howard, P. N., Woolley, S., & Calo, R. (2018). Algorithms, bots, and political communication in the US 2016 election: The challenge of automated political communication for election law and administration administration. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 15(2), 81–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2018.1448735
Humanes, M. L. (2014). Exposición selectiva y partidismo de las audiencias en España. El consumo de información política durante las campañas electorales de 2008. Palabra Clave, 17(3), 773-802. http://dx.doi.org/10.5294/pacla.2014.17.3.9
Humanes, M. L. (2019). Selective Exposure in a Changing Political and Media Environment. Media and Communication, 7(3), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v7i3.2351
Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2021). The elements of journalism. Crown.
Ksiazek, T. B., Malthouse, E. C., & Webster, J.G. (2010). News-seekers and avoiders: exploring patterns of total news consumption across media and the relationship to civic participation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54(4), 551-568. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2010.519808
Levendusky, M. (2013). Partisan media exposure and attitudes towards the opposition. Political Communication, 30(4), 565-581.
Lim, C. (2018). Checking how fact-checkers check. Research and Politics, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168018786848
López-Pan, F., & Rodríguez Rodríguez, J. M. (2020). El Fact Checking en España. Plataformas, prácticas y rasgos distintivos. Estudios sobre el mensaje periodístico, 26(3), 1045-1065. https://doi.org/10.5209/esmp.65246
Lyons, B., Mérola, V., Reifler, J., & Stoeckel, F. (2020). How Politics Shape Views Toward Fact-Checking: Evidence from Six European Countries. International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(3), 469-492. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161220921732
McChesney, R. W. (2007). Communication Revolution: Critical Junctures and the Future of the Media. The New Press.
Mejia, R., Beckermann, K., & Sullivan, C. (2018). White lies: A racial history of the (post) truth. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 15(2), 109-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420.2018.1456668
Mena, P. (2018). Principles and Boundaries of Fact-checking: Journalists' Perceptions. Journalism Practice, 13(6), 657-672. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2018.1547655
Mihailidis, P. & Viotty, S. (2017) Spreadable spectacle in digital culture: Civic expression, fake news, and the role of media literacies in ‘post-fact’ society. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(4), 441-454. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764217701217
Miller, L. (18 de octubre de 2020). Polarización en España: más divididos por ideología e identidad que por políticas públicas. Esade. https://bit.ly/3Sd0t0E
Monsees, L. (2021). Information disorder, fake news and the future of democracy. Globalizations. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2021.1927470
Mullainathan, S., & Shleifer, A. (2005). The market for news. American Economic Review, 95(4), 1031–1053. https://doi.org/10.1257/0002828054825619
Nechustai, E. (2008). From Liberal to Polarized Liberal? Contemporary U.S. News in Hallin and Mancini’s Typology of News Systems. International Journal of Press/Politics, 23(2), 183-201. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161218771902
Niñoles, A., & Ortega, C. (2020). Discurso del odio en radio: análisis de los editoriales de las cadenas COPE y SER tras la llegada del Aquarius a España. Miguel Hernández Communication Journal 11(1), 117-138. http://dx.doi.org/10.21134/mhcj.v11i0.317
Nyhan, B., Porter, E., Reifler, J., & Wood, T. J. (2020). Taking Fact-Checks Literally But Not Seriously? The Effects of Journalistic Fact-Checking on Factual Beliefs and Candidate Favorability. Political Behavior, 42(3), 939-960. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-019-09528-x
Palau-Sampio, D., & Carratalá, A. (2022). Injecting disinformation into public space: pseudo-media and reality-altering narratives. Profesional De La información, 31(3), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2022.may.12
Palau-Sampio, D. (2020). Sponsored Content in Spanish Media: Strategies, Transparency and Ethical Concerns. Digital Journalism, 9(7), 908-928. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1966314
Palau-Sampio, D. (2018). Fact-checking and scrutiny of power: Supervision of public discourses in new media platforms from Latin America. Communication & Society, 31(3), 347-365. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.31.3.347-363
Parks, P. (2022) Senses of Truth and Journalism’s Epistemic Crisis. Journal of Media Ethics, 37(3), 179-193 https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2022.2107523
Pereira, F.H. (2022). Media crisis and its effects on digital journalism careers in Canada. Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221116186
Precht, R.D (2010). Die Kunst kein Egoist zu sein: Warum wir gerne gut sein wollen und was uns davon abhält. Goldmann Verlag.
Pickard, V. (2020). Democracy Without Journalism? Confronting the Misinformation Society. Oxford University Press.
Pingree, R. J., Watson, B., Sui, M., Searles, K., Kalmoe, N. P., Darr, J. P., Santia, M., & Bryanov, K. (2018). Checking facts and fighting back: Why journalists should defend their profession. PLoS ONE, 13(12), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208600
Prior, M. (2005). News vs. Entertainment: How Increasing Media Choice Widens Gaps in Political Knowledge and Turnout. American Journal of Political Science, 49(3), 577-592. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2005.00143.x
Prior, M. (2007). Post-broadcast democracy: How media choice increases inequality in political involvement and polarizes elections. Cambridge University Press.
Robertson, C. T., Mourão, R. R., & Thorson, E. (2020). Who Uses Fact-Checking Sites? The Impact of Demographics, Political Antecedents, and Media Use on Fact-Checking Site Awareness, Attitudes, and Behavior. International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(2), 217-237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161219898055
Salaverría, R., Buslón, N., López-Pan, F., López-Goñi, I., & Erviti, M.C. (2020). Desinformación en tiempos de pandemia: tipología de los bulos sobre la Covid-19. El profesional de la información, 29(3), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2020.may.15
Schlesinger, P. (2020). After the post-public sphere. Media, Culture & Society, 42(7-8), 1545-1563. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720948003
Schudson, M. (1978). Discovering the news: A social history of American newspapers. Basic Books.
Shin, J., & Thorson, K. (2017). Partisan Selective Sharing: The Biased Diffusion of Fact-Checking Messages on Social Media. Journal of Communication, 67(2), 233-255. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12284
Skovsgaard, M., Shehata, A., & Strömbäck, J. (2016). Opportunity Structures for Selective Exposure: Investigating Exposure and Learning in Swedish Election Campaigns Using Panel Survey Data. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 21(4), 527-546. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161216658157
Slater, M. D. (2007). Reinforcing spirals: The mutual influence of media selectivity and media effects and their impact on individual behavior and social identity. Communication Theory, 17(3), 281–303. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2007.00296.x
Stella, M., Ferrara, E., & De Domenico, M. (2018). Bots sustain and inflate striking opposition in online social systems. PNAS, 115(49), 12435-12440. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1803470115
Stroud, N.J. (2010). Polarization and partisan selective exposure. Journal of Communication, 60(3), 556–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2010.01497.x
Stroud, N.J. (2011). Niche News: The Politics of News Choice. Oxford University Press.
Sunstein, C. (2003). República.com: Internet, democracia y libertad. Paidós.
Tong, C., Gill, H., Li, J., Valenzuela, S., & Rojas, H. (2020). "Fake News is Anything They Say!"–Conceptualization and Weaponization of Fake News Among the American Public. Mass Communication and Society, 23(5), 755-778. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2020.1789661
Valera-Ordaz, L. (en prensa). Political Identity and News Media Choice: The Shifting Logic of Selective Exposure during the Catalan Independence Conflict. Mass Communication & Society (aceptado y en prensa).
Valera-Ordaz, L., & Humanes, M. L. (2022). “What Drives Selective Exposure to Political Information in Spain? Comparing Political Interest and Ideology”. En D. Palau-Sampio, G. López-García & L. Iannelli (eds.) Contemporary Politics, Communication, and the Impact on Democracy (pp.93-112). IGI Global.
Van Aelst, P., Strömbäck, J., Aalberg, T., Esser, F., de Vreese, C., Matthes, J., Hopmann, D., Salgado, S., Hubé, N., Stępińska, A., Papathanassopoulos, S., Berganza, R., Legnante, G., Reinemann, C., Sheafer, T., & Stanyer, J. (2017). Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy? Annals of the International Communication Association, 41(1), 3-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2017.1288551
Viciana, H., Gaitán, A., & Hanninken, I. (3 de noviembre de 2019). Polarización afectiva: entre el tribalismo y el absolutismo moral. El País. https://bit.ly/3SgbUVg
Walter, N., Cohen, J., Holbert, R. L., & Morag, Y. (2020). Fact-Checking: A Meta-Analysis of What Works and for Whom. Political Communication, 37(3), 350-375. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2019.1668894
Wagner, M. (2021). Affective polarization in multiparty systems. Electoral Studies, 69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102199
Wahl-Jorgensen, K. & Quandt, T. (2022). Introduction: Global Perspetives on Journalism and the Coronavirus Pandemic. Journalism Studies, 23(5-6), 545-550. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2022.2039879
Wardle, C., & Derakshan, H. (2017). Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for reasearch and policy making. Council of Europe Report, 27, 1-107. https://bit.ly/3DRshTV
Westwood, S. J., Iyengar, S., Walgrave, S., Leonisio, R., Miller, L., Striijbis, O. (2018). The tie that divides: cross-national evidence of the primacy of partyism. European Journal of Political Research, 57(2), 333-354. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12228
Young, J. C. (2021). Disinformation as the weaponization of cruel optimism: A critical intervention in misinformation studies. Emotion, Space and Society, 38(October 2020), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2020.100757
Zhou, A., & Nyhan, B. (2020). Real Solutions for Fake News? Measuring the Effectiveness of General Warnings and Fact-Check Tags in Reducing Belief in False Stories on Social Media. Political Behavior, 42(4), 1073-1095. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-019-09533-0
Article download
Crossmark
License
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.
