Social media as a news source

Last updated

Social media as a news source is defined as the use of online social media platforms such as Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook rather than the use of traditional media platforms like the newspaper or live TV to obtain news. Television had just begun to turn a nation of people who once listened to media content into watchers of media content between the 1950s and the 1980s when the popularity of social media had also began creating a nation of media content creators. Content creators are currently some of the most wealthy people nowadays. Almost half of Americans use social media as a news source, according to the Pew Research Center. [1]

Contents

These are participatory platforms that allow user-generated content [2] [3] and sharing content within one's own virtual network. [4] [2] Using social media as a news source allows users to engage with news in a variety of ways including:

Using social media as a news source has become an increasingly more popular way for people of all age groups to obtain current and important information. Just like many other new forms of technology there are going to be pros and cons. There are ways that social media positively affects the world of news and journalism but it is important to acknowledge that there are also ways in which social media has a negative effect on the news. With this accessibility, people now have more ways to consume false news, biased news, and even disturbing content.

In 2019, the Pew Research Center created a poll that reported Americans are wary about the ways that social media sites share news and certain content. [5] This wariness of accuracy grew as awareness that social media sites could be exploited by bad actors who concoct false narratives and fake news. [6]

Relationship to traditional news sources

Unlike traditional news platforms such as newspapers and news shows, social media platforms allow people without professional journalistic backgrounds to create news and cover events that news agencies might not cover. [7] [8] [9] Social media users may read a set of news that differs slightly from what newspaper editors prioritize in the print press. [10] A 2019 study found that Facebook and Twitter users are more likely to share politics, public affairs, and visual media news. [11] Typically social media users circulate more towards posting about negative news. A study of tweets found that while optimistic-sounding and neutral-sounding tweets were equally likely to express certainty or uncertainty, the pessimistic tweets were nearly twice as likely to appear certain of an outcome than uncertain. [12] These results could imply that posts of a more pessimistic nature that are also written with an air of certainty are more likely to be shared or otherwise permeate groups on Twitter. A similar bias towards negativity has developed on Facebook, where internal memos revealed that an algorithm built to promote "meaningful social interaction" actually incentivized publishers to promote negative and sensational news. [13] Biases towards negativity need to be considered when the utility of new media is addressed, as the potential for human opinion to overemphasize any particular news story is greater despite general improvement. [14]

In order to compete in this rapidly changing technological environment, there has been an upheaval of traditional news sources onto online spaces. [15] The production and circulation of newspaper prints have continued to globally decline in accordance with the increasing presence of news outlets on social media. [16] Prominent platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have been key in engaging users through the integration of journalistic news into their newsfeeds. [17] This feature has now become a foundational part of these apps' interfaces.

Social media incentivizes both legacy news brands and individual professional journalists to share their reporting and interact with audiences on social platforms to boost engagement. [18] However, most people who consume news on social media report that accessing news is not their main motivation for being on social media, but rather, they see and consume news incidentally. [19] Nonetheless, informational interviews reveal that these consumers rely on being informed through social media. [20] Some news consumers attest that a news brand's participation in social media does not improve their trust in the brand and that more in-depth reporting and more transparency about biases would improve trust instead. [21]

Use as a news source

Globally, data from 2020 shows that over 70% of adult participants from Kenya, South Africa, Chile, Bulgaria, Greece, and Argentina utilized social media for news while those from France, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan were reportedly less than 40 percent. [22]

According to the Pew Research Center, 20% of adults in the United States in 2018 said they get their news from social media "often," compared to 16% who said they often get news from print newspapers, 26% who often get it from the radio, 33% who often get it from news websites, and 49% who often get it from TV. [23] The same survey found that social media was the most popular way for American adults age 18–29 to get news, the second-to-last most popular way for Americans age 20–49 to get news, and the least popular way for American adults age 50-64 and 65+ to get the news.

In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that over half of Americans (54%) either got their news "sometimes" or "often" from social media, and Facebook was the most popular social media site where American adults got their news. [24] However, at least 50% off all respondents reported that the following were either a "very big problem" or a "moderately big problem" for getting news on social media:

In a later survey from the same year, the Pew Research Center reported that 18% of American adults reported that the most common way they get news about politics and the election was from social media. [25]

Use of Social Media Platforms (In General and as News Sources) by American Adults in 2019 [26] [ needs update ]
Social media platformPercent who use platformPercent who get news or news headlines on platform
Facebook71%52%
YouTube74%28%
Twitter23%17%
Instagram38%14%
LinkedIn27%8%
Reddit13%8%
Snapchat23%6%
WhatsApp18%4%
Tumblr4%1%
Twitch5%1%
TikTok3%0%

Additional source information shows that from politics and the United States presidential election in 2016, the popularity of fake news had grown to global attention. With this information, the study explains that more than 60 percent of adults receive their news form social media, the most popular being Facebook. [27] With the increase of fake news, and the large amount of adult participation on these social media sites, it made it much harder for those who were searching for news to find a source that they could find credible.

Another study found that adult participants found their own friends on Facebook to be a more reliable source of information online compared to a professional news organization. Although, when news was posted by a news organization online, they were then found more reliable compared to when they are shared by their online friends. [28] Showing that adult participants found that the news that was only posted on Facebook and social media was much more credible to them than compared to other forms of information spreading. The study further states that these outcomes have the potential explanation that the topic of the news article played a part in the ways they were affected. [28] This could have affected the way adult participants interacted with the different news sources, such as their online friends compared to a news organization, prominently because depending on the story, they want to have the correct information about the news from the most credible source.

By young people

Social media platforms are some of the most easily accessible forms of news and with the growing generations, the technology is only going to grow. With that, the use of social media in younger generations is also going to grow alongside it. Technology in the hands of young kids can be a concern moving into the future. Globally, there is evidence that through social media, youth have become more directly involved in protests, [29] social campaigns [30] and generally, in the sharing of news across multiple platforms. [31]

The number of people who use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat as ways to seek information has increased significantly in recent years especially for people who are part of the younger generation.TikTok is a rapidly expanding platform that young adults can use to find news content on social media. TikTok is one of the sites that young adults and teens utilize to get news about trending themes and controversial topics. The younger generation accepts without hesitation the information that their favorite YouTubers, influencers, and celebrities distribute or promote to their fan base. Knowing these elements is crucial because users today are quick to propagate false information through their preferred media outlets. Source information shows that one third of people aged 18 to 24 use social media as their primary source of news. This number of social media users who utilise social media for news is more than online news sites and television news and printed news combined. [32]

In the United States, Common Sense Media conducted a 2020 nationally representative survey of American teens (ages 13–18) that found that the most common way teens got the news was from personalities, influencers, and celebrities followed on social media or YouTube (39%), despite trusting this type of news source less than other forms, such as local newspapers or local TV news networks. [33] The most commonly mentioned sources on social media or YouTube included PewDiePie, Trevor Noah, CNN, Donald Trump, and Beyoncé.

Popularity and Trust of Different News Sources by U.S. Teens Ages 13–18 in 2020 [33] [ needs update ]
News sourcePercent who get news "often" from sourcePercent who trust information from the source "a lot"
Personalities/influencers/celebrities followed on social media or YouTube39%15%
News aggregators (e.g., Google news)27%18%
Digital media outlets/blogs (e.g., Buzzfeed)21%10%
Traditional TV news networks16%21%
Local newspapers/TV shows13%28%
Comedy shows (e.g., Last Week Tonight with John Oliver)9%7%
Podcasts9%6%
Traditional print/online newspapers6%22%

This popularity of using social media as a news source in the United States is consistent with previous data. Based on interviews with 61 teenagers, conducted from December 2007 to February 2011, most of the teen participants from American high schools reported reading print newspapers only "sometimes," with fewer than 10% reading them daily. The teenagers instead reported learning about current events from social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and blogs. [34]

Across race, gender and political demographics

Just as variances occur in social media usage rates between different age demographics, similar variances occur across different racial, gender, and political demographics.

A 2021 study from PEW Research Center reported that White adults are the leading users (62%) of both Facebook and Reddit as a news source but make up less than half (40%) of this population on Instagram. Instagram is the platform that accounts for the largest proportion of Black and Hispanic adult news users, boasting 22% and 27% of these demographics respectively. [35]

A separate study from the year prior found that Black and Hispanic social media users are the most likely to consider social media platforms to be valuable news sources. 60% of Black users and 53% of Hispanic users reported that they held social media to be “very important” or “somewhat important” to their involvement with political and social issues that are important to them, in contrast to the 37% of White social media users from the same poll. [36]

In terms of gender variances, the initial article highlights the likelihood of Facebook news users to identify as female, totalling 65% of the overall population compared to the 35% reported to identify as male. [35]

Differences in social media news usage across political demographics correlate to the overall partisan usage rates attributed to each platform. An April 2021 PEW Research Center report found that 77% of Democrat/Democratic-leaning individuals admitted to using social media, compared to the 68% attributed to their Republican/Republican-leaning counterparts.These numbers closely align with the 2021 report, which found that there is no social media platform in which social media news users are more likely to be Republican/Republican leaning. [37] [35]

Effects on individual and collective memory

The ability to accurately recall where one learned something is fundamental for evaluating its reliability or accuracy, or for being able to find the information at a later date. The integration of news on social media can result in the confusion of sourcing. For example, people misidentified certain televised advertisements that seemed like news, as actual news about 70% of the time. [38] A study published in March 2020 examined how different generations are able to remember the content and source of information they read on social media and traditional news sources. The study found that content read on social media was remembered better by both younger and older generations than traditional news content. [38] The study also found that when the content and format of a news headline do not match one another, the participants were less likely to remember the source information. The adults in the older generation were more likely to think that a news headline was from a traditional source rather than a social media post. Therefore, it is not uncommon for people to forget where one found a piece of information, especially when that information was read on social media. These findings suggest that the disappearance of boundaries that exist between traditional news sources and social media platforms has possible implications for peoples memories on the source of information they are reading. [39]

News media and television journalism have been a key feature in the shaping of American collective memory for much of the twentieth century. [40] [41] Indeed, since the United States' colonial era, news media has influenced collective memory and discourse about national development and trauma. In many ways, mainstream journalists have maintained an authoritative voice as the storytellers of the American past. Their documentary style narratives, detailed exposes, and their positions in the present make them prime sources for public memory. Specifically, news media journalists have shaped collective memory on nearly every major national event – from the deaths of social and political figures to the progression of political hopefuls. Journalists provide elaborate descriptions of commemorative events in U.S. history and contemporary popular cultural sensations. Many Americans learn the significance of historical events and political issues through news media, as they are presented on popular news stations. [42] However, journalistic influence is growing less important, whereas social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, provide a constant supply of alternative news sources for users.

As social networking becomes more popular among older and younger generations, sites such as Facebook and YouTube, gradually undermine the traditionally authoritative voices of news media. For example, American citizens contest media coverage of various social and political events as they see fit, inserting their voices into the narratives about America's past and present and shaping their own collective memories. [43] [44] An example of this is the public explosion of the Trayvon Martin shooting in Sanford, Florida. News media coverage of the incident was minimal until social media users made the story recognizable through their constant discussion of the case. Approximately one month after the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, its online coverage by everyday Americans garnered national attention from mainstream media journalists, in turn exemplifying media activism. In some ways, the spread of this tragic event through alternative news sources parallels that of Emmett Till – whose murder by lynching in 1955 became a national story after it was circulated in African-American and Communist newspapers.

Societal examples

On October 2, 2013, the most common hashtag throughout the United States was "#governmentshutdown", as well as ones focusing on political parties, Barack Obama, and healthcare. Most news sources have Twitter, and Facebook, pages, like CNN and the New York Times, providing links to their online articles, getting an increased readership. Additionally, several college news organizations and administrators have Twitter pages as a way to share news and connect to students. [45] According to "Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2013", [46] in the US, among those who use social media to find news, 47% of these people are under 45 years old, and 23% are above 45 years old. However social media as a main news gateway does not follow the same pattern across countries. For example, in this report, in Brazil, 60% of the respondents said social media was one of the five most important ways to find news online, 45% in Spain, 17% in the UK, 38% in Italy, 14% in France, 22% in Denmark, 30% in the U.S., and 12% in Japan. [46] Moreover, there are differences among countries about commenting on news in social networks, 38% of the respondents in Brazil said they commented on news in social network in a week. These percentages are 21% in the U.S. and 10% in the UK. The authors argued that differences among countries may be due to culture difference rather than different levels of access to technical tools. [46]

Protesters from the 2011 Arab Spring protest in Aden, Al Mansoora. Protest Aden Arab Spring 2011.jpg
Protesters from the 2011 Arab Spring protest in Aden, Al Mansoora.

An influential example of social media making news more accessible and widely spread is the Arab Spring. Protesters used social media platforms, to create plans for in person protests and to spread video and images captured from the events that were created online. [47]

Rainie and Wellman have argued that media making now has become a participation work, [48] which changes communication systems. The center of power is shifted from only the media (as the gatekeeper) to the peripheral area, which may include government, organizations, and out to the edge, the individual. [49] These changes in communication systems raise empirical questions about trust to media effect. Prior empirical studies have shown that trust in information sources plays a major role in people's decision making. [50] People's attitudes more easily change when they hear messages from trustworthy sources. In the Reuters report, 27% of respondents agree that they worry about the accuracy of a story on a blog. [46] However, 40% of them believe the stories on blogs are more balanced than traditional papers because they are provided with a range of opinions. Recent research has shown that in the new social media communication environment, the civil or uncivil nature of comments will bias people's information processing even if the message is from a trustworthy source, [51] which bring the practical and ethical question about the responsibility of communicator in the social media environment.

The case study on the 2013 urban protests in Brazil reflects how digital communication form a new type of e-democracy in mass societies. [52] The case study reveals how Brazilians used social media to organize manifestations regarding cost of public transportation, violence, homophobia, and corruption. The young population dominated the demonstrations. They posted videos and pictures on WhatsApp chat groups, created online events on Facebook, and gathered over 250.000 protestors on the streets. Consequently, Brazilians were able to modify functions in an institutionalized system, not only by promoting awareness on certain social problems, but also by inducing president Dilma Rousseff's impeachment in 2016. [52]

Implications of using social media as a news source

Using non-traditional platforms such as social media as a news source is an easy way to gain access to numerous different types of information such as gossip blogs, sporting events, political matters, and business affairs. Using social media as a news outlet helps relieve the hardships of navigating through several websites and articles to find one source with information pertaining to the topic being explored. However, using social media as a news gateway also presents several implications which can be challenging to guide through. Some of the most current issues regarding using social media as a news source are:

The spread of fake news has become a complex challenge for social media platforms to mediate. False information is being spread by individual social media users and companies and organizations who use social media to communicate with their audience. Approximately 23% of social media users have reported that they have spread fake news, [53] and fake news spreads faster than true news on social media, primarily because people share it amongst others. In today's day and age, almost 62% of adults get their news from social media platforms and that number is increasing. [53] There are two distinctions between news found on social media and traditional journalism. The first is that any user can create news on social media, regardless if it is fake or real. Then others are able to share it and spread that information to others rapidly. The second distinction is that the majority of social media platforms present news feeds to their users. The feeds consist of a mix of news from friends, followers, sources based on past activities or interactions and from advertisers who pay to have their content on users' feeds. [53] In 2017, Facebook gave its new emoji reactions five times the weight in its algorithms as its like button, which data scientists at the company in 2019 confirmed had disproportionately boosted toxicity, misinformation and low-quality news. [54]

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have begun implementing fact-checking tools to ensure that the shared content is accurate and factual. However, this moderated news is not always done promptly and can take several days before being reviewed. According to a study published in the article "Understanding Patterns of Covid Infodemic: A Systematic and Pragmatic Approach to Curb Fake News," the author states that "based on the analysis of 225 pieces of fake news identified by fact-checking tools, Brennen, Simon, Howard, and Nielsen (2020) indicated that 20% of them were shared by politicians, celebrities, and other public figures". [55] With so much of this false information being shared by trusted politicians and honourable authorities such as doctors, there becomes a stress factor for users to decide who is trustworthy.

In recent times, research has been focused on the growing “news finds me” perception, [56] which is the phenomenon that comes as a result of individuals trusting in social media algorithms and reposted content to provide them with all the relevant news they need. The primary causes of concern surrounding this phenomenon are the loss of contextualization and reliance on peers that characterize it. [57] [58]

Another implication that social media as a news source has introduced is the rise in biased news. In recent studies, it has been stated that social media users tend to create an environment in which the pages and users they follow only reflect and reinforce the opinions of their own. [59] This phenomenon is referred to as an echo chamber and is fueled by confirmation bias. Research has found that “it is possible to determine the political leanings of a Twitter user by simply looking at the partisan preferences of their friends”. [60] When social media users rely on these networking platforms for their daily news sources, it is possible that they are only receiving information that is a reflection of what they want to see in society, further implicating the matter by ignoring issues that require being addressed.

Social media can and cannot be a reliable source for information. False news is not strongly regulated on social media platforms therefore it is easy and widely accessible for anyone to post and for many more people to consume that information that has been released. [61]

Another common issue that has risen through the use of social media as a news platform is mixing information and altering or exaggerating a story or event. Social media being such an open, diverse and accessible place to display information has made it an easy way for information to be altered and changed, which can lead to false news and can even be dangerous depending on the target audience. Along with how common false news is on social media platforms, media is also consumed and retired at an alarming rate. [61] Oftentimes headlines on social media are quickly discarded and it is very challenging to keep a subject relevant.

Journalism and social media

North American Journalist Code of Ethics

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) represents American journalists and the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) advocate for Canadian journalists. Both of these organizations have set ethical standards that journalist should follow in order to preserve their professional integrity. These codes of ethics are as follows:

Digital journalism

The CAJ makes note of how these codes of ethics should still apply to digital media. The general recommendations made about digital media and journalism are as follows:

Journalist's use of social media

The spread of news has become increasingly dependent on websites such as blogs, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. These platforms are reliant on brief and fast content in order to keep the interest of their users, therefore quantity is better than quality. Journalists face more challenges because of all the information that comes through these unofficial networks. They need to filter through all so that their work can still be reliable, but they still face the pressure to produce more content and faster than traditional news. Journalists can accomplish their tasks more efficiently with social media tools [64] but journalists must be wary of how their actions while using these tools can affect their audiences. Journalists have an impact on the conduct of society by the way citizens perceive their work and the journalism industry. With the constant evolution of the internet and the growing need for social media in the workplace, the work of journalists and their practices are also changing. Traditionally, when collecting the publics opinion, journalists ask participants questions and participants are aware of what is being asked of them, and by whom, but with the rise of social media, journalists are able to collect public information without social media users knowing or consenting. For example, when journalists quote social media posts, it may be seen as an invasion of privacy since the usernames are sometimes used to identify the individuals being quoted. These practices become questionable to their audiences; it depends on what they believe is suitable social media behaviour. The use of social media as a journalistic source may also be taken out of context and misinterpreted which in turn misrepresents the public. People who are unsure about whether journalists can reliably make claims using social media may question the value and integrity of the journalists' reports. The media and media news source, such as journalists must present information that is trustworthy. [65]

Social media guidelines for journalists

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) [66] and the New York Times [67] both encouraged their journalists in 2017 to use social networking platforms because it can create relationships with their readers, help them make new contacts, and even reach a greater audience. Both organizations have created guidelines for their journalists to follow. Journalists may have professional accounts in which they clearly state where they work, their posts should reflect those of the company, and they should not share any partisan opinions. Journalists are allowed to have a private personal account, but they should still be careful of what they post, like, or comment.

Layoffs, closures, and the search for a new business model for journalism

The digital media industry is facing significant challenges as Vice, BuzzFeed News, Vox, and Gawker all experienced staff cuts, program closures, or complete shutdowns. These developments are driven by a historic slowdown in digital advertising, raising concerns among media companies about further cuts. The shift away from social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, has added to the industry's woes, as these platforms increasingly prioritize other content and control digital advertising revenue. The marriage between news outlets and social media has become rocky, with platforms favoring polarization and extremism for click-driven engagement. As the decline of Web 2.0 becomes evident, with rampant misinformation and user dissatisfaction, the future of digital news remains uncertain. However, trends like niche newsletters, paid subscriptions, and smaller online communities are emerging as potential alternatives, offering hope for a rebirth of the industry on a human scale. [68]

Related Research Articles

Media bias occurs when journalists and news producers show bias in how they report and cover news. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening of the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article. The direction and degree of media bias in various countries is widely disputed.

Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic deceptions and media manipulation tactics to advance political, military, or commercial goals. Disinformation is implemented through attacks that "weaponize multiple rhetorical strategies and forms of knowing—including not only falsehoods but also truths, half-truths, and value judgements—to exploit and amplify culture wars and other identity-driven controversies."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News media</span> Elements of mass media that focus on delivering news

The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, news channels etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizen journalism</span> Journalism genre

Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism, grassroots journalism, or street journalism, is based upon members of the community playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information. Courtney C. Radsch defines citizen journalism "as an alternative and activist form of news gathering and reporting that functions outside mainstream media institutions, often as a response to shortcomings in the professional journalistic field, that uses similar journalistic practices but is driven by different objectives and ideals and relies on alternative sources of legitimacy than traditional or mainstream journalism". Jay Rosen offers a simpler definition: "When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another." The underlying principle of citizen journalism is that ordinary people, not professional journalists, can be the main creators and distributors of news. Citizen journalism should not be confused with community journalism or civic journalism, both of which are practiced by professional journalists; collaborative journalism, which is the practice of professional and non-professional journalists working together; and social journalism, which denotes a digital publication with a hybrid of professional and non-professional journalism. Seungahn Nah and Deborah S. Chung say in their book "Understanding Citizen Journalism as Civic Participation" that citizen journalism is "highly embedded in local communities where community residents engage in day-to-day routines of community storytelling about local politics, public affairs, community events, neighborhood issues, schools, public transportation, land uses and environments, and much more."

Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such checking done in-house by the publisher to prevent inaccurate content from being published; when the text is analyzed by a third party, the process is called external fact-checking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social networking service</span> Online platform that facilitates the building of relations

A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misinformation</span> Incorrect or misleading information

Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation can exist without specific malicious intent; disinformation is distinct in that it is deliberately deceptive and propagated. Misinformation can include inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or false information as well as selective or half-truths. In January 2024, the World Economic Forum identified misinformation and disinformation, propagated by both internal and external interests, to "widen societal and political divides" as the most severe global risks within the next two years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">User-generated content</span> Online content created by users

User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), emerged from the rise of intelligent web services which allow everyday users to create content, such as images, videos, audio, text, testimonials, and software and interact with other users. Online content aggregation platforms such as social media, discussion forums and wikis by their interactive and social nature, no longer produce multimedia content but provide tools to produce, collaborate, and share a variety of content, which can affect the attitudes and behaviors of the audience in various aspects. This transforms the role of consumers from passive spectators to active participants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social media</span> Virtual online communities

Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing and aggregation of content amongst virtual communities and networks. Common features include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital journalism</span> Editorial content published via the Internet

Digital journalism, also known as netizen journalism or online journalism, is a contemporary form of journalism where editorial content is distributed via the Internet, as opposed to publishing via print or broadcast. What constitutes digital journalism is debated by scholars; however, the primary product of journalism, which is news and features on current affairs, is presented solely or in combination as text, audio, video, or some interactive forms like storytelling stories or newsgames, and disseminated through digital media technology.

Content creation or content creative is the act of producing and sharing information or media content for specific audiences, particularly in digital contexts. According to Dictionary.com, content refers to "something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing or any of various arts" for self-expression, distribution, marketing and/or publication. Content creation encompasses various activities including maintaining and updating web sites, blogging, article writing, photography, videography, online commentary, social media accounts, and editing and distribution of digital media. In a survey conducted by Pew, content creation was defined as "the material people contribute to the online world".

In communication, media are the outlets or tools used to store and deliver semantic information or contained subject matter, described as content. The term generally refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as print media (publishing), news media, photography, cinema, broadcasting, digital media, and advertising. Each of these different channels requires a specific, thus media-adequate approach, to a successful transmission of content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echo chamber (media)</span> Situation that reinforces beliefs by repetition inside a closed system

In news media and social media, an echo chamber is an environment or ecosystem in which participants encounter beliefs that amplify or reinforce their preexisting beliefs by communication and repetition inside a closed system and insulated from rebuttal. An echo chamber circulates existing views without encountering opposing views, potentially resulting in confirmation bias. Echo chambers may increase social and political polarization and extremism. On social media, it is thought that echo chambers limit exposure to diverse perspectives, and favor and reinforce presupposed narratives and ideologies.

Social network advertising, also known as social media targeting, is a group of terms used to describe forms of online advertising and digital marketing that focus on social networking services. A significant aspect of this type of advertising is that advertisers can take advantage of users' demographic information, psychographics, and other data points to target their ads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filter bubble</span> Intellectual isolation through internet algorithms

A filter bubble or ideological frame is a state of intellectual isolation that can result from personalized searches, recommendation systems, and algorithmic curation. The search results are based on information about the user, such as their location, past click-behavior, and search history. Consequently, users become separated from information that disagrees with their viewpoints, effectively isolating them in their own cultural or ideological bubbles, resulting in a limited and customized view of the world. The choices made by these algorithms are only sometimes transparent. Prime examples include Google Personalized Search results and Facebook's personalized news-stream.

Social media and political communication in the United States refers to how political institutions, politicians, private entities, and the general public use social media platforms to communicate and interact in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fake news</span> False or misleading information presented as real

Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue. Although false news has always been spread throughout history, the term fake news was first used in the 1890s when sensational reports in newspapers were common. Nevertheless, the term does not have a fixed definition and has been applied broadly to any type of false information presented as news. It has also been used by high-profile people to apply to any news unfavorable to them. Further, disinformation involves spreading false information with harmful intent and is sometimes generated and propagated by hostile foreign actors, particularly during elections. In some definitions, fake news includes satirical articles misinterpreted as genuine, and articles that employ sensationalist or clickbait headlines that are not supported in the text. Because of this diversity of types of false news, researchers are beginning to favour information disorder as a more neutral and informative term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multimedia journalism</span> Practice of contemporary journalism

Multimedia journalism is the practice of contemporary journalism that distributes news content either using two or more media formats via the Internet, or disseminating news report via multiple media platforms. First time published as a combination of the mediums by Canadian media mogul, journalist and artist, Good Fridae Mattas in 2003. It is inseparably related to the media convergence of communication technologies, business integration of news industries, and editorial strategies of newsroom management.

Social media use in politics refers to the use of online social media platforms in political processes and activities. Political processes and activities include all activities that pertain to the governance of a country or area. This includes political organization, global politics, political corruption, political parties, and political values. The media's primary duty is to present us with information and alert us when events occur. This information may affect what we think and the actions we take. The media can also place pressure on the government to act by signaling a need for intervention or showing that citizens want change

Disinformation attacks are strategic deception campaigns involving media manipulation and internet manipulation, to disseminate misleading information, aiming to confuse, paralyze, and polarize an audience. Disinformation can be considered an attack when it occurs as an adversarial narrative campaign that weaponizes multiple rhetorical strategies and forms of knowing—including not only falsehoods but also truths, half-truths, and value-laden judgements—to exploit and amplify identity-driven controversies. Disinformation attacks use media manipulation to target broadcast media like state-sponsored TV channels and radios. Due to the increasing use of internet manipulation on social media, they can be considered a cyber threat. Digital tools such as bots, algorithms, and AI technology, along with human agents including influencers, spread and amplify disinformation to micro-target populations on online platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Google, Facebook, and YouTube.

References

  1. ↑ Walker, Mason; Matsa, Katerina Eva (September 20, 2021). "News Consumption Across Social Media in 2021". Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Obar, Jonathan A.; Wildman, Steve (2015). "Social media definition and the governance challenge: An introduction to the special issue". Telecommunications Policy. 39 (9): 745–750. doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2015.07.014. SSRN   2647377.
  3. ↑ Kaplan Andreas M.; Haenlein Michael (2010). "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media" (PDF). Business Horizons. 53 (1): 61. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003. S2CID   16741539. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ Kietzmann, Jan H.; Kristopher Hermkens (2011). "Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media". Business Horizons (Submitted manuscript). 54 (3): 241–251. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005. S2CID   51682132.
  5. ↑ Shearer, Elisa; Grieco, Elizabeth (October 2, 2019). "Americans Are Wary of the Role Social Media Sites Play in Delivering the News" . Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  6. ↑ Hemsley, Jeff; Jacobson, Jenna; Gruzd, Anatoliy; Mai, Philip (July 2018). "Social Media for Social Good or Evil: An Introduction". Social Media + Society. 4 (3): 205630511878671. doi: 10.1177/2056305118786719 . ISSN   2056-3051.
  7. ↑ Rosen, Jay. "The People Formally Known as the Audience". PressThink. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  8. ↑ Andrejevic, Mark (2013). "Public Service Media Utilities: Rethinking Search Engines and Social Networking as Public Goods". Media International Australia. 146 (1): 123–132. doi:10.1177/1329878x1314600116. ISSN   1329-878X. S2CID   107705623.
  9. ↑ Jeljeli, R.; Setoutah, S.; Farhi, F. (2021). "Citizen-Journalist Dilemma Between Media Freedom and Professionalism". Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana. 26 (Esp.1): 394–406.
  10. ↑ Bastos, Marco Toledo (2014). "Shares, Pins, and Tweets" (PDF). Journalism Studies. 16 (3): 305–25. doi:10.1080/1461670X.2014.891857. S2CID   142024148.
  11. ↑ Martin, Fiona (2019), Martin, Fiona; Dwyer, Tim (eds.), "What We Share: Genre and Topicality on Facebook and Twitter", Sharing News Online: Commendary Cultures and Social Media News Ecologies, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 129–156, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-17906-9_5, ISBN   978-3-030-17906-9, S2CID   199337345 , retrieved November 24, 2021
  12. ↑ Runge, Kristin K.; Yeo, Sara K.; Cacciatore, Michael; Scheufele, Dietram A.; Brossard, Dominique; Xenos, Michael; Anderson, Ashley; Choi, Doo-hun; Kim, Jiyoun; Li, Nan; Liang, Xuan (January 2013). "Tweeting nano: how public discourses about nanotechnology develop in social media environments". Journal of Nanoparticle Research. 15 (1): 1381. Bibcode:2013JNR....15.1381R. doi:10.1007/s11051-012-1381-8. ISSN   1388-0764. S2CID   136543838.
  13. ↑ Horwitz, Keach Hagey and Jeff (September 15, 2021). "Facebook Tried to Make Its Platform a Healthier Place. It Got Angrier Instead". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  14. ↑ Gerhards, Jürgen; Schäfer, Mike (2010). "Is the internet a better public sphere? Comparing old and new media in the USA and Germany" (PDF). New Media & Society. 12 (1): 143–160. doi:10.1177/1461444809341444. S2CID   15949692. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Digital News Report 2021". Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  16. ↑ cycles, This text provides general information Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct Due to varying update; Text, Statistics Can Display More up-to-Date Data Than Referenced in the. "Topic: Newspaper Industry in Australia". Statista. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  17. ↑ Mitchell, Amy; Rosenstiel, Tom; Christian, Leah (March 19, 2012). "What Facebook and Twitter Mean for News". Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  18. ↑ Powers, Matthew; Vera-Zambrano, Sandra (August 1, 2018). "How journalists use social media in France and the United States: Analyzing technology use across journalistic fields". New Media & Society. 20 (8): 2728–2744. doi:10.1177/1461444817731566. ISSN   1461-4448. S2CID   52021771.
  19. ↑ "How and why do consumers access news on social media?". Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  20. ↑ Bergström, Annika; Jervelycke Belfrage, Maria (May 28, 2018). "News in Social Media". Digital Journalism. 6 (5): 583–598. doi: 10.1080/21670811.2018.1423625 . ISSN   2167-0811. S2CID   158092667.
  21. ↑ Fisher, Caroline; Park, Sora; Flew, Terry (April 17, 2020). "How can we restore trust in media? Fewer biases and conflicts of interest, a new study shows". The Conversation. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Usage of social media as a news source worldwide 2020". Statista. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  23. ↑ Shearer, Elisa (December 10, 2018). "Social media outpaces print newspapers in the U.S. as a news source". Pew Research Center.
  24. ↑ Shearer, Elisa; Grieco, Elizabeth (2019). "Americans Are Wary of the Role Social Media Sites Play in Delivering the News". Pew Research Center.
  25. ↑ Mitchell, Amy; Jurkowitz, Mark; Oliphant, J. Baxter; Shearer, Elisa (July 30, 2020). "Americans Who Mainly Get Their News on Social Media Are Less Engaged, Less Knowledgeable". Pew Research Center.
  26. ↑ Castells, Manuel (2004). Castells, Manuel (ed.). The Network Society. doi:10.4337/9781845421663. ISBN   9781845421663.
  27. ↑ Kim, Antino; Moravec, Patricia L.; Dennis, Alan R. (July 3, 2019). "Combating Fake News on Social Media with Source Ratings: The Effects of User and Expert Reputation Ratings". Journal of Management Information Systems. 36 (3): 931–968. doi:10.1080/07421222.2019.1628921. ISSN   0742-1222. S2CID   219308779.
  28. 1 2 Tandoc, Edson C. (February 7, 2019). "Tell Me Who Your Sources Are: Perceptions of news credibility on social media". Journalism Practice. 13 (2): 178–190. doi:10.1080/17512786.2017.1423237. ISSN   1751-2786. S2CID   149399060.
  29. ↑ Valenzuela, Sebastián; Arriagada, Arturo; Scherman, Andrés (April 2012). "The Social Media Basis of Youth Protest Behavior: The Case of Chile". Journal of Communication. 62 (2): 299–314. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01635.x.
  30. ↑ Lee, Chul-joo (March 2014). "The Role of Social Capital in Health Communication Campaigns: The Case of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign". Communication Research. 41 (2): 208–235. doi:10.1177/0093650212446332. ISSN   0093-6502. S2CID   36897725.
  31. ↑ Sihombing, Sabrina Oktaria (2017). "Predicting intention to share news through social media: An empirical analysis in Indonesian youth context". Business and Economic Horizons. 13 (4): 468–477. doi:10.15208/beh.2017.32 (inactive November 1, 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  32. ↑ Vázquez-Herrero, Jorge; Direito-Rebollal, Sabela; López-García, Xosé (October 2019). "Ephemeral Journalism: News Distribution Through Instagram Stories". Social Media + Society. 5 (4): 205630511988865. doi: 10.1177/2056305119888657 . hdl: 10347/20983 . ISSN   2056-3051. S2CID   212863119.
  33. 1 2 Robb, Michael, B. (2020). "Teens and the news: The influencers, celebrities, and platforms they say matter most, 2020". Common Sense Media.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  34. ↑ Marchi, R. (2012). "With Facebook, Blogs, and Fake News, Teens Reject Journalistic 'Objectivity'". Journal of Communication Inquiry. 36 (3): 246–62. doi:10.1177/0196859912458700. S2CID   145374582.
  35. 1 2 3 Shearer, Elisa; Mitchell, Amy (January 12, 2021). "News Use Across Social Media Platforms in 2020". Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  36. ↑ Auxier, Brooke (December 11, 2020). "Social media continue to be important political outlets for Black Americans". Pew Research Center. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  37. ↑ Vogels, Emily A.; Auxier, Brooke; Monica; erson (April 7, 2021). "Partisan differences in social media use show up for some platforms, but not Facebook". Pew Research Center. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  38. 1 2 Bourne, Kimberly A.; Boland, Sarah C.; Arnold, Grace C.; Coane, Jennifer H. (March 14, 2020). "Reading the news on Twitter: Source and item memory for social media in younger and older adults". Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 5 (1): 11. doi: 10.1186/s41235-020-0209-9 . ISSN   2365-7464. PMC   7072077 . PMID   32172505.
  39. ↑ Bourne, Kimberly A.; Boland, Sarah C.; Arnold, Grace C.; Coane, Jennifer H. (March 14, 2020). "Reading the news on Twitter: Source and item memory for social media in younger and older adults". Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 5 (1): 11. doi: 10.1186/s41235-020-0209-9 . ISSN   2365-7464. PMC   7072077 . PMID   32172505.
  40. ↑ Kitch, Carolyn (2002). "Anniversary Journalism, Collective Memory, and the Cultural Authority to Tell the Story of the American Past". Journal of Popular Culture. 36: 44–67. doi:10.1111/1540-5931.00030. S2CID   161675942.
  41. ↑ Edy, Jill (1999). "Journalistic Uses of Collective Memory". Journal of Communication. 49 (2): 71–85. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1999.tb02794.x.
  42. ↑ Pajala, Mary (2012). "Television as an Archive of Memory?". Critical Studies in Television. 5 (2): 133–145. doi:10.7227/cst.5.2.16. S2CID   156717273.
  43. ↑ Motti Neiger, Oren Meyers, and Eyal Zandberg. On Media Memory: Collective Memory in a New Media Age. New York : Palgrave MacMillan, 2011
  44. ↑ Barnhurst, Kevin; Wartella, Ellen (1998). "Young Citizens, American TV Newscasts and the Collective Memory". Critical Studies in Mass Media. 15 (3): 279–305. doi:10.1080/15295039809367049.
  45. ↑ "» What Facebook and Twitter Mean for News". stateofthemedia.org. March 18, 2012.
  46. 1 2 3 4 Newman, N.; Levy, D. (2013). "Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2013" (PDF). reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2013.
  47. ↑ Bruns, Axel; Highfield, Tim; Burgess, Jean (June 17, 2013). "The Arab Spring and Social Media Audiences". American Behavioral Scientist. 57 (7): 871–898. doi:10.1177/0002764213479374. ISSN   0002-7642. S2CID   67817464.
  48. ↑ Rainie, Lee & Wellman, Barry (April 27, 2012). Networked: The New Social Operating System. MIT Press. ISBN   9780262300407.
  49. ↑ Rosen, Jay (June 30, 2006). "The People Formerly Known as the Audience". Huffington Post.
  50. ↑ Renn, Ortwin; Levine, Debra (1990). "Credibility and trust in risk communication". In Roger E. Kasperson; Pieter Jan M. Stallen (eds.). Communicating Risks to the Public International Perspectives (Submitted manuscript). Technology, Risk, and Society. Vol. 4. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. pp. 175–217. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-1952-5_10. ISBN   978-94-009-1952-5.
  51. ↑ Brossard, D. (August 2013). "New media landscapes and the science information consumer". PNAS. 110 (Suppl 3): 14096–101. Bibcode:2013PNAS..11014096B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1212744110 . PMC   3752175 . PMID   23940316.
  52. 1 2 Holston, James (June 1, 2014). ""Come to the Street!": Urban Protest, Brazil 2013". Anthropological Quarterly. 87 (3): 887–900. doi:10.1353/anq.2014.0047. S2CID   144680562.
  53. 1 2 3 Indiana University; Kim, Antino; Dennis, Alan R.; Indiana University (January 1, 2019). "Says Who? The Effects of Presentation Format and Source Rating on Fake News in Social Media". MIS Quarterly. 43 (3): 1025–1039. doi:10.25300/MISQ/2019/15188.
  54. ↑ Merrill, Jeremy B.; Oremus, Will (October 26, 2021). "Five points for anger, one for a 'like': How Facebook's formula fostered rage and misinformation". Washington Post.
  55. ↑ Gupta, Ashish; Li, Han; Farnoush, Alireza; Jiang, Wenting (February 1, 2022). "Understanding patterns of COVID infodemic: A systematic and pragmatic approach to curb fake news". Journal of Business Research. 140: 670–683. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.032. ISSN   0148-2963. PMC   8627595 . PMID   34866715.
  56. ↑ Song, Hyunjin; Gil de Zúñiga, Homero; Boomgaarden, Hajo G. (January 2, 2020). "Social Media News Use and Political Cynicism: Differential Pathways Through "News Finds Me" Perception". Mass Communication and Society. 23 (1): 47–70. doi:10.1080/15205436.2019.1651867. ISSN   1520-5436.
  57. ↑ Song, Hyunjin; Gil de Zúñiga, Homero; Boomgaarden, Hajo G. (January 2, 2020). "Social Media News Use and Political Cynicism: Differential Pathways Through "News Finds Me" Perception". Mass Communication and Society. 23 (1): 47–70. doi: 10.1080/15205436.2019.1651867 . ISSN   1520-5436. S2CID   201380388.
  58. ↑ Park, Chang Sup; Kaye, Barbara K. (March 3, 2020). "What's This? Incidental Exposure to News on Social Media, News-Finds-Me Perception, News Efficacy, and News Consumption". Mass Communication and Society. 23 (2): 157–180. doi:10.1080/15205436.2019.1702216. ISSN   1520-5436. S2CID   214012640.
  59. ↑ "What is a Social Media Echo Chamber? | Stan Richards School of Advertising". advertising.utexas.edu. November 18, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  60. ↑ Menczer, Filippo; Ciampaglia, Giovanni Luca (June 20, 2018). "Misinformation and biases infect social media, both intentionally and accidentally". The Conversation. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  61. 1 2 Jang, Jeong-woo (August 10, 2021). "Proximate or Primary Source? How Multiple Layers of News Sources on Social Media Predict News Influence". Social Science Computer Review. 41: 201–216. doi:10.1177/08944393211032505. ISSN   0894-4393. S2CID   238677482.
  62. 1 2 "Canadian Association of Journalists - Ethics guidelines". caj.ca. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  63. ↑ SPJ. "SPJ Code of Ethics - Society of Professional Journalists". www.spj.org. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  64. ↑ Pradhan, Dr. Pitabas. "A study on Journalistic use of Social Media" (PDF). Amity Journal of Media & Communication Studies. 8.
  65. ↑ Dubois, Elizabeth; Gruzd, Anatoliy; Jacobson, Jenna (August 8, 2018). "Journalists' Use of Social Media to Infer Public Opinion: The Citizens' Perspective". Social Science Computer Review. 38 (1): 57–74. doi: 10.1177/0894439318791527 . ISSN   0894-4393. S2CID   70281241.
  66. ↑ "Guidelines for AFP Journalists using Social Media" (PDF).
  67. ↑ Times, The New York (October 13, 2017). "The Times Issues Social Media Guidelines for the Newsroom". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  68. ↑ Allyn, Bobby (April 28, 2023). "Hard times are here for news sites and social media. Is this the end of Web 2.0?". NPR. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.