Fact-Checkers on the Fringe: Investigating Methods and Practices Associated With Contested Areas of Fact-Checking
This study investigates the methods and practices used by self-identified fact-checkers situated on the fringe of the field of fact-checking to support their agenda for public recognition and legitimacy. Using a case study approach and selecting nine cases across five countries (Russia, Brazil, Indi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Media and Communication |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/8688 |
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| author | Silvia Montaña-Niño Victoria Vziatysheva Ehsan Dehghan Anand Badola Guangnan Zhu Otávio Vinhas Michelle Riedlinger Sofya Glazunova |
| author_facet | Silvia Montaña-Niño Victoria Vziatysheva Ehsan Dehghan Anand Badola Guangnan Zhu Otávio Vinhas Michelle Riedlinger Sofya Glazunova |
| author_sort | Silvia Montaña-Niño |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigates the methods and practices used by self-identified fact-checkers situated on the fringe of the field of fact-checking to support their agenda for public recognition and legitimacy. Using a case study approach and selecting nine cases across five countries (Russia, Brazil, India, China, and Singapore), we identify the most common distinguishable attributes and tactics associated with this ambiguous collection of actors. In addition to identifying how fringe fact-checkers weaponize fact-checking practices and exploit or mimic the social standing of accredited fact-checkers, we critique examples where state-supported fact-checkers associated with authoritarian governance structures fact-check for national interests. We propose a spectrum of fact-checkers including those where public or general interest fact-checkers follow journalistic ideals and align with accredited communities of practice or non-accredited peer recognition, and a collection of fringe fact-checkers ranging from “special interest” actors promoting specific political agendas to hostile actors with disruptive, destructive, and openly propagandistic interests and aims to destabilize the global public sphere. The article contributes to current research and debates about the institutionalization of fact-checking and the understudied area of fact-checking impersonation, a problematic activity associated with misinformation and propaganda on platforms and the internet. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e8e147fb655b48e990f244a14ff88f5f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2183-2439 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Media and Communication |
| spelling | doaj-art-e8e147fb655b48e990f244a14ff88f5f2024-12-09T10:58:10ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392024-10-0112010.17645/mac.86883776Fact-Checkers on the Fringe: Investigating Methods and Practices Associated With Contested Areas of Fact-CheckingSilvia Montaña-Niño0Victoria Vziatysheva1Ehsan Dehghan2Anand Badola3Guangnan Zhu4Otávio Vinhas5Michelle Riedlinger6Sofya Glazunova7Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne, AustraliaInstitute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Bern, SwitzerlandDigital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, AustraliaDigital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, AustraliaDigital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, AustraliaSchool of Information and Communication Studies, University College Dublin, IrelandDigital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, AustraliaSchool of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne, AustraliaThis study investigates the methods and practices used by self-identified fact-checkers situated on the fringe of the field of fact-checking to support their agenda for public recognition and legitimacy. Using a case study approach and selecting nine cases across five countries (Russia, Brazil, India, China, and Singapore), we identify the most common distinguishable attributes and tactics associated with this ambiguous collection of actors. In addition to identifying how fringe fact-checkers weaponize fact-checking practices and exploit or mimic the social standing of accredited fact-checkers, we critique examples where state-supported fact-checkers associated with authoritarian governance structures fact-check for national interests. We propose a spectrum of fact-checkers including those where public or general interest fact-checkers follow journalistic ideals and align with accredited communities of practice or non-accredited peer recognition, and a collection of fringe fact-checkers ranging from “special interest” actors promoting specific political agendas to hostile actors with disruptive, destructive, and openly propagandistic interests and aims to destabilize the global public sphere. The article contributes to current research and debates about the institutionalization of fact-checking and the understudied area of fact-checking impersonation, a problematic activity associated with misinformation and propaganda on platforms and the internet.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/8688fact checkingfact-checking normsfringe fact-checkersinternational fact-checking networkpoliticsstate-sponsorship |
| spellingShingle | Silvia Montaña-Niño Victoria Vziatysheva Ehsan Dehghan Anand Badola Guangnan Zhu Otávio Vinhas Michelle Riedlinger Sofya Glazunova Fact-Checkers on the Fringe: Investigating Methods and Practices Associated With Contested Areas of Fact-Checking Media and Communication fact checking fact-checking norms fringe fact-checkers international fact-checking network politics state-sponsorship |
| title | Fact-Checkers on the Fringe: Investigating Methods and Practices Associated With Contested Areas of Fact-Checking |
| title_full | Fact-Checkers on the Fringe: Investigating Methods and Practices Associated With Contested Areas of Fact-Checking |
| title_fullStr | Fact-Checkers on the Fringe: Investigating Methods and Practices Associated With Contested Areas of Fact-Checking |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fact-Checkers on the Fringe: Investigating Methods and Practices Associated With Contested Areas of Fact-Checking |
| title_short | Fact-Checkers on the Fringe: Investigating Methods and Practices Associated With Contested Areas of Fact-Checking |
| title_sort | fact checkers on the fringe investigating methods and practices associated with contested areas of fact checking |
| topic | fact checking fact-checking norms fringe fact-checkers international fact-checking network politics state-sponsorship |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/8688 |
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