Searching for elusive journalism values in the era of fake news
A group of Zimbabwean bloggers formed a voluntary association (the Zimbabwe Online Content Creators-ZOCC) aimed at protecting the credibility of their online content against fake news by producing factual content. Like the media elsewhere in the world, Zimbabwean media have been influenced by the p...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Johannesburg
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Communicare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1541 |
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| Summary: | A group of Zimbabwean bloggers formed a voluntary association (the Zimbabwe Online Content
Creators-ZOCC) aimed at protecting the credibility of their online content against fake news
by producing factual content. Like the media elsewhere in the world, Zimbabwean media have
been influenced by the phenomenon of “post-truth”, a term relating to the rise of an era in which
emotions rather than facts seem to sway public opinion, and where populism overshadows basic
principles of reason and veracity. Qualitative interviews with members of this Association sought to
understand the value of membership of this group in reducing the circulation of disinformation and
misleading content. Firstly, results show that to some extent the Association inculcated a sense of
identity and belonging which bind members’ commitment to the group’s core values such as being
balanced, independent, truthful, accurate and responsible. Mainstream media organisations,
bloggers, vloggers and animators can use the power of their professional identity to coalesce
as a buffer against fake news. However, this study noted that as the group is voluntary-based, it
lacks authority and disciplinary power to enforce compliance with group norms, thereby running
the risk that some members can violate the same values with impunity. Secondly, in Zimbabwe,
there are strong relationships between the type of falsified and misleading news and the sociopolitical
and economic context. Information might be published for its “feel good” effect (at the
expense of its credibility and accuracy) in a context where democracy and economic prosperity
are illusory to many.
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| ISSN: | 0259-0069 2957-7950 |