Scandinavian political journalism in a time of fake news and disinformation

Bente Kalsnes*, Kajsa Falasca, Aske Kammer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Focusing on fake news, disinformation, and misinformation, this chapter addresses how the main actors in the political communication process (politicians, news media, and citizens) deal with the increasingly complex information environment in Scandinavia. In this chapter, we examine how politicians apply the term “fake news” in relation to both news media and political opponents. Additionally, we address how the news media deal with the challenge of fake news and disinformation, typically through verification and fact-checking. Lastly, we examine how citizens relate to fake news, employing data from the Reuters Digital News Report (Newman et al., 2018) from the three Scandinavian countries: Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. This study demonstrates that we need new methods for digital source criticism, verification, and media literacy in an information environment suited to the information manipulation of text, icons, images, and video.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPower, Communication, and Politics in the Nordic Countries
EditorsEli Skogerbø, Øyvind Ihlen, Nete Nørgaard Kristensen, Lars Nord
PublisherNordicom
Publication date2021
Pages283-304
Chapter14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

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