News Media Research Articles

[formula omitted]: A multimodal misinformation dataset for media authenticity analysis

With the development of various generative models, misinformation in news media becomes more deceptive and easier to create, posing a significant problem. However, existing datasets for misinformation study often have limited modalities, constrained sources, and a narrow range of topics. These limitations make it difficult to train models that can effectively combat real-world misinformation. To address this, we propose a comprehensive, large-scale Multimodal Misinformation dataset for Media Authenticity Analysis (M3A), featuring broad sources and fine-grained annotations for topics and sentiments. To curate M3A, we collect genuine news content from 60 renowned news outlets worldwide and generate fake samples using multiple techniques. These include altering named entities in texts, swapping modalities between samples, creating new modalities, and misrepresenting movie content as news. M3A contains 708K genuine news samples and over 6M fake news samples, spanning text, images, audio, and video. M3A provides detailed multi-class labels, crucial for various misinformation detection tasks, including out-of-context detection and deepfake detection. For each task, we offer extensive benchmarks using state-of-the-art models, aiming to enhance the development of robust misinformation detection systems.

The Shortest Nuclear Route to Climate Tipping Points to Great Power Competition: Tracing Arctic Security from the Cold War to Now

<p>Arctic security has been growing in popularity across academia, policymaking, and news media. However, this popularity has come with a notable question: what does Arctic security mean and what knowledge underpins it? This study traces the discourse on Arctic security from the Cold War to present examining the emergence of different types of security which range from more traditional variants to wider and deeper readings such as environmental and comprehensive security. I identify key strands of Arctic security discourse, trace their interaction over time, and periodize the region. While the Cold War era was dominated by nuclear and traditional security logics, there have been three main shifts since then including 2) 1990s-2007, 3) 2007-2019, and 4) 2019-present. This research finds that Arctic security knowledge clearly follows global security trends. Thus, as security has widened and deepened globally, so too have the potential meanings of Arctic security expanded. However, there is a clear hierarchy in today’s general discourse regarding what issues take center stage for the Arctic such as great power competition and climate change. This is in contrast to the Arctic Council, which takes into account all but military security definitions for Arctic security and integrates them in a relatively balanced way. This has implications for ocean governance institutions and the degree to which traditional military security concerns should be left out of broader ocean governance.</p>

Between tides: examining China discourses in Pacific Island news media

The Indo-Pacific context has gained increasing geopolitical focus over the last decade, and particularly over the last five years as powers such as the United States, Australia, the European Union (and three of its Member States – France, Germany and the Netherlands) have elaborated dedicated Indo-Pacific strategies. Underlying these has been a concern with the actions of China, defined through contested geopolitical discourses on its role as an actor in the region. While this contestation has been given some attention in academic literature, notably absent has been a consideration of the impact on regional states caught between these discursive tides, and particularly of the Pacific Island states (unsurprising, given the focus on the northern maritime arc that predominates in Indo-Pacific research). This article fills this gap through analysis of eight news media outlets (seven local and one regional) covering October–November 2019 and 2022, identifying the main discourses on China in Pacific media and their source, and examining the impact of these on local Pacific reporting. It finds that, notwithstanding the preponderance of ‘Western’ discourses on China’s role in Pacific media through republication of external media reporting, this does not translate into influence over Pacific reporting. Instead, it is Chinese discourses on its role that have the greatest resonance.

Biased Social Media Debates About Terrorism? A Content Analysis of Journalistic Coverage of and Audience Reactions to Terrorist Attacks on YouTube

Social media are an important source of news during crises such as terrorist attacks. However, how news media and their audiences make sense of terrorism on social media is subject to bias, for example, given their differential treatment of terrorism by right-wing versus Islamist extremist perpetrators. In this study, we analyze how incident- and perpetrator-related characteristics of terrorist attacks are associated with bias in public debates about terrorism on YouTube. We focus on selectiveness in which attacks are covered (gatekeeping bias), how attacks are covered (presentation bias), and how audiences react to coverage (audience bias). Methodologically, we employ a manual and an automated content analysis of terrorism coverage by five international broadcasters on YouTube ( N = 643, 2018–2020) and related user comments ( N = 193,721). Our findings illustrate how sociocultural contexts shape news bias in terrorism coverage, both in the form of gatekeeping bias and presentation bias—but we conclude with less evidence for audience bias in public reactions to terrorism, at least on social media. Consequently, journalists should critically question working routines in covering crises to avoid reinforcing power imbalances, especially those from Western contexts.

“Why Should We Care?”: Motivations of Public Librarians in the American South to Expand Civic Engagement for Racial Justice

ABSTRACTAn important aspect of human information behavior research is to understand the motivations of people as they interact with information and technologies to make a difference. This paper presents exploratory findings of a qualitative study of public librarians' motivations to expand civic engagement for racial justice in the American South. The geographical region is stereotypically characterized historically as being solely racially intolerant in public perceptions, scholarly discourse, political networks, and news media. This research challenges such limited notions, highlighting public librarian's logic‐based motivations to further civic engagement for racial justice in context of the nation's historical/contemporary racialized political climate. In the process, the authors acknowledge the voices/perspectives of public librarians, an often‐underrepresented group in privileged academic information behavior research. Thematic narrative analysis is explored as a strategic mode of presenting the findings.

Analysis of ChatGPT in the Triage of Common Spinal Complaints

ChatGPT is a natural language processing chatbot with a significant prevalence in modern media with a clear application in the medical triage workflow. ChatGPT has shown significant capacity for understanding clinical vignettes, radiology reports, and even passing the American Board of Neurological Surgery board examination. There has never been an evaluation of the chatbot in triage and diagnosing spinal vignettes common to primary and urgent care practice. Fifteen clinical scenarios were created to mimic spinal complaints common to primary and urgent care scenarios. GPT-4 was instructed to assess the situation as if it was in a primary care office and determine diagnosis, imaging recommendations, and if emergency room (ER) or operative referral was necessary. Answers were recorded and the results compared to those of attending and resident respondents. GPT-4 provided the most likely diagnosis in each scenario. Additionally, it recommended reasonable clinical management of each scenario which would fall within standard practice guidelines. ChatGPT tended toward over-referral to the ER; however, this was not significant. GPT-4 was noninferior in all categories when compared to respondents. ChatGPT is a powerful tool for primary triage of spinal issues. It can rapidly and accurately evaluate clinical scenarios and provide clear diagnostic reasoning. GPT-4 is not designed for medical use and will provide a disclaimer as such. It did tend toward over-referring patients to the ER. With specific training, it is likely that artificial intelligence and natural language processing chatbots will become widely used in primary triage of spinal issues.

“Women's Lives Are on the Line, and Our Hands Are Tied”: How Television Is Reckoning With a Post-Dobbs America

BackgroundSince the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision revoked federal protection for abortion rights, many states have restricted abortion. Although news media covers this shifting landscape through reporting, this article documents how entertainment content is responding to this new reality in its storytelling. MethodsThe sample is from a public database of abortion plotlines on American television (abortiononscreen.org). I separated the sample of 150 plotlines into two groups: plotlines that filmed and/or aired pre-Dobbs (January 2020–August 2022) and those that aired post-Dobbs (September 2022–December 2023). Coding occurred in Microsoft Excel. ResultsPost-Dobbs, there was an increase in procedural abortion depictions compared with pre-Dobbs, but no change in the consistently low number of depictions of medication abortion. The post-Dobbs sample included a 10% increase in teen characters compared with pre-Dobbs. Pre-Dobbs, the vast majority of plotlines (77%) did not portray any barriers to abortion care. Post-Dobbs, 33% depicted barriers. The most common reason for abortion seeking in both samples was age (11%). Pre-Dobbs, the next most common was a mis-timed pregnancy (10%). Post-Dobbs, the next most common was health concerns (11%). ConclusionsSince Dobbs, more television plotlines are portraying obstacles to abortion care, yet they continue to tell stories of white, non-parenting teenagers who make up a small percentage of real abortion patients. Plotlines overrepresent procedural abortion over the more common medication abortion. Depictions of health-related reasons for abortion seeking obscure more commonly provided reasons for abortions, such as mistimed pregnancies, caregiving responsibilities, and financial concerns. Considering the low levels of abortion knowledge nationwide, understanding what (mis)information audiences encounter onscreen is increasingly important.

Logics of competition: the forming of opinion in the bid for a green mega investment

ABSTRACT This article utilizes news media representations to scrutinize the symbolic construction and legitimizing support for green megaprojects, with a particular focus on Northvolt’s battery factory in Skellefteå, Sweden. The study reveals that the media portrayed the project as crucial for local development, driven by Northvolt’s explicit competition, Sweden’s national ambition to lead in green technology, and a neoliberal agenda for regional economic growth. These narratives, deeply rooted in ideological fantasies about the implications of such a megaproject for a small, struggling community, effectively suppressed concerns about colonialism, environmental risks, and indigenous rights. The media’s emphasis on perceived benefits overshadowed potential risks, prompting questions about the long-term impact of such projects on local communities and the environment. The article argues that while these investments are framed as opportunities for progress, they may perpetuate historical patterns of exploitation and overlook critical socio-environmental issues.

To Problem of Defining the Influence of Comics on Media Culture and Media Studies

The relevance of the article derives from increasing popularity of comics, which forms a certain need for qualitative research of this phenomenon. The purpose of the article is to identify the dominant research points of view on the concept of “comics” in media studies, as well as to spot out problematic aspects in the issue of evaluating the influence of comics on modern media culture and society. The research methodology can be considered as traditional for works which are devoted to the study of comics and is based on a structural-semiotic approach. The need to use this methodology is determined by the narrative specifi cs of comics, based on its semiotics, which combines verbal and non-verbal narrative elements within a single system. The study focuses on revealing the specifi c aspects of the two dominant positions regarding the defi nition of comics and spotting out problematic aspects which are common for the most studies based on these points of view. The fi rst position defi nes comics as a genre, while the second identifi es it as a narrative format. The results of the study showed that due to the key differences in the defi nition of nature of comics, existing points of view assess the impact of the comics on culture and society differently. The position which defi nes comics as a genre mainly concentrates on the social aspects of comics as a cultural phenomenon, without taking into account aspects related to the narrative specifi cs and the form of this phenomenon. Meanwhile the point of view which considers comics as a narrative format, on the contrary, shifts the focus of attention towards the linguistic aspects of comic books without taking into consideration its social and cultural characteristics. Despite the fact that each of the defi ned positions is applicable to a specifi c fi eld of knowledge, these gaps in modern studies do not allow to formulate comprehensive defi nition for comics and properly assess its impact on society and culture. Keywords: comics, popular culture, transmedia storytelling, narrative form, creolized text

Мedia Text: Communication Tactics for Building Trust

Using the activities example of journalist-podcaster, Kommersant media holding expert Daria Tsivina, the article examines communicative tactics for building trust as an media culture integral part. One of the main reasons for the article topic relevance is the transformation of the formation processes and trust manifestation in a journalist associated with the development of information and communication technologies and convergence processes. Media trust is a key concept in the overall assessment of the journalistic text quality. We show the relationship between the main trust elements, which is understood as the truthfulness of words, actions, emotions and motives. The article presents the empirical study results, the purpose of which is to identify journalistic communication tactics that are of particular importance in the media trust formation. Nonverbal communication – voice intonation – is the most important, along with verbal, means of communication and infl uence. The features of nonverbal communication compared to verbal communication are described.Leading qualities determined based on the study results are indicated, which include speech skills (speech technique), communication skills (speech logic, emotional content); persuasiveness, ability to present information; erudition. To achieve the study purpose, an online survey was conducted. The research process used the content analysis method, as well as lexical-semantic and morphological analysis. It is concluded that the podcast is an audio version of a written text. This is one of the main differences between the podcast format and other formats of modern media discourse, which allows us to explore the author’s speech techniques. It can be concluded that the Tsivina’s texts lexical features show that the restaurant critic views his own podcast as an effective means of communication with the audience. In general, the podcast “Restaurant Criticism with Daria Tsivina” is characterized by a clear, concise structure and the use of easy-to-understand morphological units. Prosody as a super segmental phonological phenomenon in context. This study suggests that the podcaster must take into account prosody as a super segmental phonological phenomenon that is critical to the trust formation. Keywords: podcast, media trust, prosody, intonation, convergence

Влияние автоматизации цифровых процессов в медиа на формирование потребительского поведения молодежи

Digitalization and automation of media affect the consumer behavior of young journalists and bloggers. The research revealed the corresponding strategic vectors of social constructs in young people’s consumer behavior. It relied on the social construction of reality developed by P. Berger and T. Luckmann, as well as on the reality of mass media by N. Luhmann. The main methods of empirical research included: 1) literature reviews and secondary analysis of research on digital marketing and its impact on consumer behavior; 2) observation and analysis of the behavior of university students and young professionals in online environment. The consumer behavior demonstrated such trends as social mobility; life changes, innovation, and experimentation; rapid suggestibility and gullibility. Young people proved to be active users of modern media; they were attracted mostly to entertainment content, i.e., videos, music, podcasts, games, etc., as well as to educational platforms. The authors described and classified the basic tools employed by content creators in the context of media automation. The study revealed an increase in major threats and risks associated with the fundamental lack of public control in the digital environment, where the final content is shaped by automated processes and artificial intelligence.

Science, Fiction, and Contemporary Media: Blurred Borders in Knowledge Dissemination in Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain

This study examines the technical methods used by Michael Crichton to blur the lines between factual information and fictional elements in his novel The Andromeda Strain. The creative use of scientific terminology and artistic documentation that supports a sense of reality plays a role in creating a certain blurring that works to enhance the blurring of the boundaries between reality and imagination. The study aims to explore the novel within the framework of postmodern literary theory, questioning the concept of absolute truth, and emphasizing the role of language and literary discourse in constructing reality. Through a critical analysis of the novel, this study seeks to clarify the methods followed by Crichton to employ language and discourse to create an atmosphere of authenticity that contributes greatly to blurring the line between reality and imagination. In addition, the study comprehensively analyses modern media platform technologies that are used to erode the boundaries between objective reality and fictional narratives, and their consequent effects on the dissemination of information. The study concluded that Crichton's novel The Andromeda Strain embodies the successful integration of scientific concepts with fantasy elements, which resulted in a captivating and intellectually stimulating narrative.

On Pushkin, Cultural Continuity and Linguistic Features of Modern Media Discourse

The article emphasizes the enormous infl uence of the work of Alexander Pushkin on the entire national culture, literature and language. It became the source of the most signifi cant socio-historical, philosophical, aesthetic ideas for all subsequent Russian literature. Personal reader observations related to the classical heritage and language of the modern media space, as well as practical experience in training journalistic personnel, prompted the author to turn to the problem of cultural continuity, which has become relevant in recent years to our society. Attention is drawn to the fact that high school graduates who have chosen the specialty of journalist and public relations specialist have in recent years come to university with a weak background of general cultural knowledge. “Digital” youth, brought up on exams, don`t always give preference to reading original literature.The purpose of the article is to understand the modern process of cultural continuity, cultural and linguistic meanings and features of modern media discourse. Society is based on communication, and communication is impossible without a common system of concepts and values. The author expresses the idea that in the context of the new challenges of our time, society has clearly formulated a request for the preservation of national roots, national culture, domestic classics, the need to preserve the intergenerational cultural code as an urgent task that determines the dynamics of the humanities in general and journalism in particular. Based on the method of theoretical analysis, as well as using the method of content analysis, the author analyzes the specifi c results of a study of the press of the big cities in the Privolzhskiy Federal District, the state of the modern media agenda and changes that have affected the language of modern media. The author concludes that these processes refl ect the transformation of both the press and society. Also, we express an opinion on the need for attention to the issues of the mission of modern media discourse, the infl uence of media on the formation of the spiritual world of modern humanity, its worldview and civic position, which was characteristic of the best traditions of Russian culture. Keywords: Alexander Pushkin, classics, cultural continuity, language of modern media, media discourse, training of journalists

Multinational and Multimodal Character Framing of Political Candidates in Online News: Do Political and Media System Classifications Matter?

An evolving body of research generally referred to as visual politics has brought the heavy research focus on linguistic modalities of political communication closer to parity with visual emphasis. The study reported here transcends this schism by joining momentum toward multimodality as an ontological departure point for research. We expanded an existing visual instrument into a multimodal one and provided evidence that it reliably captures character framing of political candidates (stateliness, compassion, mass appeal, ordinariness, and sure loser) in German, Polish, and United States commercial online news. We focused on election coverage in these countries because they represent three distinct political and media systems (democratic-corporatist, polarized-pluralist, and hybrid) of the Global North. The quantitative content analysis sample we used spans 2,688 online news stories with seven political candidates identified in 6,560 cases across six modalities (still images, moving images, frozen video images, text, audio, and superimposed text). We found support for the hypothesis that political and media system latencies affect how news media frame the character traits of political candidates in both visual and linguistic modalities. Specifically, the competitive tendencies of majoritarian democracies manifested more clearly as candidate-centered, simplistic, and polarizing character framing in US media content than in journalistic output of multiparty consensus democracies. For example, US news media were more consistent in their portrayal of election winners and losers than German and Polish news media, emphasizing stateliness, compassion, and ordinariness in the winner while unambiguously assigning the negative sure loser frame to the election loser.

Towards a processual understanding of trust: A study of trust-building strategies of constructive journalists

Trust in news media is a hot topic in media research, and although several attempts have been made to explore it, the concept has commonly been viewed as a matter of audiences’ reception of news products. In contrast, we conceptualize trust as an integral part of all stages of the news production process and focus on the journalists’ perspective. Based on semi-structured interviews with Austrian constructive journalists, we investigate which strategies they use to improve the perception of their trustworthiness among audiences and what they want to achieve by being trusted. Trust-building strategies are identified across various stages of news production, with a notable emphasis on traditional journalistic values like objectivity, particularly in the context of separating facts from opinions to enhance audiences’ trust. Objectivity is sought through reliance on scientific sources, which are considered objective in their own right. This approach contrasts with conventional notions of objectivity in journalistic and academic discourse on constructive journalism. The findings reveal a focus on fostering trust to promote a solution-oriented approach to public issues, facilitating a more vibrant and constructive public discourse.

Medusa's Evolution: From Mythological Monster to Feminist Icon – A Reflection of Shifting Societal Narratives?

This research paper analyses and compares the myth of Medusa in ancient and modern times, through literature, art, media, pop culture and psychoanalysis to determine whether the modern reinterpretation of Medusa’s story is a genuine transformation or merely a repurpose of Medusa’s image without addressing the deeper issues of gender, power and sexuality. By recasting Medusa into modern feminist narratives, scholars and philosophers like Freud, Lacan, Cixous and Butler help challenge the patriarchal narratives and try to subvert traditional gender roles. Through these feminist theories, we are able to overlook the traditional portrayal of Medusa with a fresh eye. Though there are limitations to interpretations of Medusa’s image, they are less in comparison to literature that has appropriately used the myth of Medusa to raise questions about violence and discrimination against women in modern times. The paper challenges whether modern reinterpretation is seen as Medusa’s “glow up” or “glow down” by examining examples of literature, art and pop culture.

Content moderation and the digital transformations of gatekeeping

AbstractThis essay provides an overview of the current state of content moderation on social media platforms. The question the essay addresses is why there are a number of unresolved issues in tackling dysfunctional content. The argument is that there are two intersecting new phenomena which make effective content moderation difficult: one is that social media platforms lack the gatekeeping of content that was characteristic of traditional news media. The second is that the regulation of this un‐gatekept content is still unsettled; it falls between social media companies that span the globe and the regulations or absence thereof bounded by nation‐states. To understand both, an analysis restricted to law and regulation is insufficient. Instead, it is necessary to examine the role of media systems in society in a holistic way, and in a way that distinguishes between gatekept media and the absence of gatekeeping or new forms of gatekeeping. Such a broader account points to why the institutionalization of content moderation is likely to be a protracted and uneven process. The conclusion spells out how the tensions that have arisen with new media could be resolved, but also why they are likely to remain imperfectly resolved.

Cultural and Ethnic Identity in the Modern Realities of Media Development: Rating of Market Forces and Potential

The study’s relevance is determined by a sharp increase in interethnic and intercultural conflicts due to the digitalisation and mediatisation of geopolitics. Socio-communicative channels of ideological influence on ethnocultural life make it possible to actively manipulate people’s desire to preserve their ethnocultural identity, supporting extra-legal forms of institutional social management implemented through media, which requires deep investigation and comprehension. The article aims to outline the role and place of media and the media market in today’s geopolitical conflict landscape, both on a global scale and at the nation-state level, based on research on the conflict potential of media within ethnic and cultural identity patterns, their shaping and functioning. The research is founded on concepts and hypotheses developed in national-cultural identity, globalisation, and geopolitics. It is also based on methodological approaches such as civilisational, comparative, systemic, dialectical, sociocultural, and synergetic. It is shown that media products and the media market are a resource for ethnic conflict mobilisation. Social actors in mass communication strive to convince society of the benefits of their peace/conflict projects. It was revealed that contemporary communication, media and journalism studies have mostly neglected to critically assess the news media’s role in producing and distributing propaganda based on ethnic and cultural identity narratives, and the necessity of filling this research gap is emphasised. It has been demonstrated that information influences can change the main geopolitical potential of the state – the national mentality, culture and moral state of people. The media market today has become a full-fledged element of postclassical geopolitics. The question of the role of the symbolic capital of culture in the information (media) space is now acquiring not an abstract theoretical but a strategic geopolitical significance.

Analysis of the Report Framing of China's Mainstream News Media During Major Epidemics

Analysis of the Report Framing of China's Mainstream News Media During Major Epidemics

The association between mass media news about interethnic contact and relations between ethnic minorities and natives: The perspective of African immigrants in Italy.

The present research investigated the role of a pervasive and often negative form of indirect contact, exposure to mass media news on interethnic contact. Specifically, we examined the associations between mass media exposure and both African immigrants' attitudes toward native Italians and their collective action intentions to achieve higher intergroup equality in the host country. We conducted two survey studies, one cross-sectional (Study 1, N = 285) and the second longitudinal (Study 2, N = 423) with African immigrants living in Italy. Exposure to negative mass media news was linked to less positive attitudes toward native Italians and more collective action of African immigrants. The negative link between negative mass media news exposure and intergroup attitudes was stronger for those African migrants who reported relatively low positive and negative direct intergroup contact. These findings were consistent across both studies. The positive link between negative mass media news exposure and collective action was stronger among African immigrants with relatively low negative direct intergroup contact. The evidence illustrates the independent and combined ways in which the valence of direct and indirect contact can affect immigrants' attitudes toward natives, and their motivation to build a more inclusive and equal society. Overall, results highlighted the greater strength of negative rather than positive indirect contact of immigrants, especially when they reported less positive direct contact experience with native Italians. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).