Abstract

The study presented in this article demonstrates journalists’ abilities to debunk mis-, dis- and malinformation in everyday work situations. It shows how journalists use core skills and competencies to verify the information and it describes why false information evades the journalistic filter and gets published. We combined semi-structured interviews with a think-aloud method in which 20 Estonian journalists were shown constructed episodes of false information and then asked to discuss them. Based on the results, we argue that journalists use traditional fact-checking skills in specific combinations, which is usually sufficient to validate the information. However, when under time pressure, journalists tend to trust their professional experience and take the risk of publishing unchecked information. This risk is even higher when the source seems to be trustworthy and the information is presented on an official social media platform or on the journalist’s personal social media page, or if the journalist lacks more in-depth knowledge about a specific topic. Video manipulation (e.g. deep fake) and decontextualised photo presentations are the most difficult for journalists to verify, and that is similar regardless of the platform the journalist specialises in. The results of this study are useful for training journalism students and practicing journalists in how to debunk false information.

摘要

本文中的研究展示了记者在日常工作中揭穿错误、虚假和虚假信息的能力。它展示了记者如何使用核心技能和能力来验证信息，并描述了为什么虚假信息会避开新闻过滤器并被发布。我们将半结构化采访与大声思考的方法相结合，其中向 20 名爱沙尼亚记者展示了虚构的虚假信息集，然后要求对其进行讨论。根据结果​​，我们认为记者在特定组合中使用传统的事实核查技能，这通常足以验证信息。然而，当面临时间压力时，记者往往会相信自己的专业经验，并冒着发布未经检查的信息的风险。当信息来源看似可信且信息呈现在官方社交媒体平台或记者的个人社交媒体页面上，或者记者缺乏对特定主题的更深入了解时，这种风险会更高。视频处理（例如深度伪造）和去上下文的照片演示是记者最难验证的，无论记者专攻哪个平台，这都是相似的。这项研究的结果有助于培训新闻专业的学生和从业的记者如何揭穿虚假信息。