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WS 8: Fending off trolls – Journalists in defence of democracy

1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Marco Lotti

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  • Disinformation is a phenomenon that is evolving quickly, both in quantity and quality. Some solutions from institutions include a rapid alert system to timely flag disinformation and the implementation of voluntary codes of practice for online platforms.
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  • The interplay between populism and technology has witnessed the exacerbation of extremist and hateful online content. Closer co-operation between online platforms, fact-sharing networks, and independent researchers would help in gaining a comprehensive and analytical understanding of the (big) data behind the phenomenon of disinformation.
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  • The challenges posed by the spread of misinformation cannot be tackled by one actor alone but require a multistakeholder approach. Fact-checking activities should not rely solely on the users or media outlets, but should be the result of a collaborative effort between media outlets and online platforms.
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  • The current market model of the digital economy does not favour traditional media outlets which are facing important economic losses while the demand for and the spread of fake content remain high online. It is essential to stress the independence of the media as a benchmark for democracies, as well as fostering fact-based, quality, and ethical journalism. Solutions do not include a one-size-fits-all approach, but rather, locally-oriented responses.
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  • Despite the fact that misinformation is spreading and represents a challenge, it is not an immutable phenomenon. The importance of media literacy building programmes, the stress on transparency in collaboration among different actors – as well as on the content management decisions, are essential to the health of democracies.

Source: https://comment.eurodig.org/eurodig-2019-messages/ws-8-fending-off-trolls-journalists-in-defence-of-democracy/