(26). Epistemic Insecurity. This was rife during the pandemic. The UK’s bleak economic outlook post-Brexit, with the lowest growth in the G20, exemplifies the consequences of a lack of diversity in media opinion. The highly partisan British media, especially evident in the run-up to the EU referendum, failed to provide impartial and pluralist coverage, contributing to economic challenges such as runaway inflation, low growth, and dwindling investment prospects. The media’s role in the Brexit debate, criticised for its biased and EU-prejudiced coverage, highlights the failure to fulfill the responsibility of providing impartial and balanced reporting (Taylor, Ros.16.05.2017)
The British media’s coverage of the Brexit debate was characterised by a failure to provide clear explanations and a tendency towards poorly articulated, biased, and EU-prejudiced reporting, including ‘scaremongering’ articles. Despite playing a significant role in the Brexit debate, the media did not fulfill its responsibility to offer impartial and balanced coverage. Broadcast media, newspapers, and social media broadly supported the Leave campaign through their coverage and/or editorial policies.
In the United Kingdom, the broadcast media’s approach was constrained by the rules of Ofcom, Britain’s regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. It also regulates the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate. British rules on impartiality and balance, leading to coverage that, in the author’s view, was misleading and lacked substance. Newspapers, caught up in the excitement of the campaign, failed to hold both sides accountable. An analysis by the University of Loughborough revealed that the Leave viewpoint was emphasised to 82 percent of readers, while only 18 percent were exposed to the Remain viewpoint.
Regarding social media, it was noted that despite the Brexit camp generating most of the debate’s intensity, the majority of social media users, particularly those in the 18-40 age group, voted to Remain. The skepticism surrounding social media’s ‘echo chamber’ effect, where users are exposed only to views they agree with, contributes to polarisation rather than promoting a diversity of viewpoints. This situation underscores the media’s failure to provide straightforward facts and to challenge the falsehoods presented by both sides. The outcome of the poll should serve as a wake-up call for the industry
The contemporary period is associated with the age of falsehoods that are crowding out newsworthy reports which have undergone the editorial process, which involves a chain of media professionals, trained or indentured reporters, fact-checkers, and editors (Goldman, Alvin I., 2011). In January 2018, CEO Mark Zuckerberg shifted the responsibility of detecting false ‘news’ to the public when he wrote, “We could try to make that decision ourselves, but that’s not something we’re comfortable with” (Linda Emma, March 5). This alluded to the controversial issue of news censorship. Several media organisations have shifted the burden of skepticism onto their audience, which is seen as relieving journalism from its responsibility to fact-check due to the overwhelming amount of information that needs to be processed (Riordan, Kellie, 2014).
The term ‘Fake News’ is a broader term that encompasses misinformation, malinformation and disinformation (MMD). It strikes across wider topics including health, environment, and economics on various platforms. But experts have urged to avoid it due to its strong association with politics, which narrows its scope. They have put forward the term false information instead. False information refers to news, stories, or hoaxes created to mislead or deceive audiences, often for influencing opinions, advancing agendas, or generating profit. Martina Chapman, a media literacy expert, identifies mistrust, misinformation, and manipulation as the core elements of false information.
The rise of false information has primarily been accelerated by social media with ‘Facebook being a more fertile breeding ground for fake news than Twitter.’ It provides unregulated spaces for content sharing without strict editorial oversight. Misinformation is false information that is spread by people who think it’s true. This is different from ‘fake news’ and disinformation.
While traditional media adhere to rigorous codes, the economics of social media favour sensationalism, speed, and shareability, making it harder for users to discern credible sources. Various forms of fake news include:
- Clickbait: Sensational headlines designed to attract clicks, often sacrificing accuracy.
- Propaganda: Biased stories created to mislead or promote agendas.
- Satire/Parody: Fake stories meant for entertainment, often mistaken for factual news.
- Sloppy Journalism: Inaccurate reporting due to insufficient fact-checking.
- Misleading Headings: Distorted articles with sensational headlines that misrepresent the content.
- Biased News: Stories catering to audiences’ existing beliefs or biases.
- Imposter Content: False information mimicking legitimate sources to appear credible.
- Manipulated Content: Altered photos, videos, or data used to deceive or misinform.
Market Forces: Free market ideas have been the driving force shaping media policy in the UK since the 1980s and followed by India thereafter. Although free market competition is essential for empowering consumers, fostering freedom, and achieving efficiency, media history informs us that public interest as a public good would not exist if it wasn’t for the government’s interventionist policy. Normative economics holds the view that left to citizens they would opt for purely and exclusively entertainment and excitement channels which unbeknown to them only leads to entanglement with their own ignorant or skewed minds. Many participants actively looked for more entertaining or uplifting news in social media or aggregators instead. (Reuters, 2012)
The Reuters report points to a growing disconnect between what traditional news brands offer and what young consumers are looking for: “Traditional news brands feel their job is to tell people what they should know. To an extent youngsters also want what is useful to know, what is interesting to know and what is fun to know.” The traditional normative practice has been challenged by the rise of socially constructive learning, driven by online teaching methods and the widespread use of collaborative, cooperative, and interactive platforms.
Mainstream media need to make news more accessible, relevant and entertaining to attract the next generation of consumers. Free market advocates, the market not only makes for efficient media but also produces media that people want, a wide range of choice, and media independence from government. However, it acknowledges criticisms of this approach, particularly with regards to public service broadcasting, which is often viewed by free market advocates as unrepresentative and prone to waste and profligacy. The pace of deregulation has not been fast enough for committed neo-liberals, some of whom argue that the BBC should be broken up into independent, separately financed stations funded partly by advertising.
In this context, it suggests that regulation can play a role in ensuring that the market functions in the public interest. It notes that there have been attempts to regulate media policy at the European level through directives such as the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which aims to remove barriers to cross-border competition between television organisations in Europe. It addresses some of the concerns about media concentration and unrepresentative broadcasting that have been raised by critics of the free-market approach.
However, television was still a collective activity, and now we seem to be paradoxically connecting ourselves to death on our solitary screens. The coordinates of the empty space we used to climb into to find ourselves are being lost, and an entire generation does not even know of its existence. Therefore, taking the first steps towards controlling the information/entertainment overload within their family, starting with banning all screens in the house during weekends and afternoons. (Postman, N. (1985).
(27) Explanatory Journalism: The rapid and continuous flow of online and 24-hour broadcast news has necessitated further clarification and elucidation due to the prevalence of incomplete, misleading, and inaccurate information. The absence of an editorial process and regulation contributes to this issue. Explanatory journalism (EJ) is a response strategy that aims to explain complex issues and events through detailed reporting and analysis, helping readers and viewers develop a deeper understanding of the topics covered and promoting a more critical approach to media consumption (Carlson, 2020).
(28) Transparency, The Third Principle, is essential for fostering trust. Being transparent about sources, interests, intent, methods, and affiliations is crucial wherever reasonable. This includes being open about values and codes of practice against which an organisation may be held accountable.
The author expresses his gratitude for the privilege to climb the shoulders of the great giants whose names are listed in the appendix to be able to see farther. Besides being inspired by a number of prominent thinkers, philosophers, monks and deep thinkers who come from different fields and subfields including mass media, journalism, education, philosophy, psychology and neuroscience.[MORE- Epistemic Responsibility of Journalists