A Case of Claims and Facts: Automated Fact-Checking the Future of Journalism’s Authority

Abstract

This article investigates the role of automated fact-checking on journalistic authority. Using metajournalistic discourse analysis, this article analyzes 137 articles from January 2015 to December 2022 about automated fact-checking to attempt to understand its role in the evolution of the profession’s boundaries. The data reveals three core themes: shifts of labor and experiences, social and civic responsibilities, and attribution and accuracy as contested issues. Each theme offers a different perspective on journalism’s dialogue of itself. Labor shifts illuminate making the work environment easier. Social and civic responsibilities represent the contention between fact and fiction. And attribution and accuracy highlight the need for human actors in the fact-checking process. The journalists welcome the AFCs for their assistance in labor and combatting misinformation. But the journalists draw a line in the sand to protect their autonomy and authority regarding the evolution of technology in ways like natural language processing and algorithmic accountability.