Media ecosystems and the fact-checking movement

Abstract

A creative economy is an economy where value is based on imaginative qualities‎ rather than on the resources of land, labour and capital, and one of the‎ most dynamic sectors of the global economy. The media industry is an important‎ part of the creative economy and faces the most dynamic media ecosystems‎ changes. One of the most interesting phenomena is the rising discipline‎ of fact-checking. The discipline, which in four years (2014-2018) had a global‎ growth of 239%, has developed to combat the adverse consequences of fake‎ news and misinformation. It has brought interesting changes in media ecosystems‎ and has enriched this part of the creative economy sector. This paper‎ brings an overview of fact-checking trends in the European Union and South‎ East Asia as these two regions show the fastest growth of the creative economy.‎ Analysis answers the following research questions: What is the status of‎ fact-checkers in those parts of the world? Which business models are dominant?‎ How popular are they on social media? Which methodologies are used‎ for fact-checking? What are their sources of financing? How often are the‎ fact-checking organisation bilingual? Results show a significant discrepancy‎ in trends in those two continents and emphasise fact-checking organisations’‎ contribution in the complex media ecosystems and further development. As‎ media ownership impacts media content, research regarding media owners’‎ impact on fact-checking trends in the European Union and South East Asia‎ is recommended.‎