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Questioning Fact-Checking in the Fight Against Disinformation: An Audience Perspective
Journalism Practice, Volume: 17, Issue: 10, Pages: 2123 - 2139
Swansea University Author: Ceri Hughes
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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/17512786.2022.2097118
Abstract
Fact-checking has been identified as a significant journalistic tool in the fight against disinformation. Relevant studies have focused on its emergence as a movement within journalism aiming at renewing the profession, as well as its effectiveness in challenging disinformation, especially during el...
| Published in: | Journalism Practice |
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| ISSN: | 1751-2786 1751-2794 |
| Published: |
Informa UK Limited
2023
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60722 |
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| Abstract: |
Fact-checking has been identified as a significant journalistic tool in the fight against disinformation. Relevant studies have focused on its emergence as a movement within journalism aiming at renewing the profession, as well as its effectiveness in challenging disinformation, especially during elections. However, little has been said about how audiences themselves understand fact-checking and employ it in their daily consumption of news. In this article, we answer these questions by drawing upon two sets of data. The first consists of fourteen focus group discussions in the UK, which included 52 participants, and were conducted online between April and May 2021. The second consists of two qualitative surveys that explored news consumers’ understandings of fact-checking and their evaluations of current fact-checking practices of UK media during the same period. We conclude that the use of fact-checking remains largely peripheral, and its influence is minimal in people’s news consumption. However, there is an appetite for more fact-checking in television news, as a way of holding politicians into account and helping the public better understand politics. In this context, we argue, if fact-checking is to play an important role in political discourse, it should become a regular part of broadcast journalism. |
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| Keywords: |
Fact-checking; audience studies; misinformation; focus groups; survey; television news |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
This work was supported by Arts and Humanities Research Council [Grant Number AH/S012508/1]. |
| Issue: |
10 |
| Start Page: |
2123 |
| End Page: |
2139 |