Media policy and infodemic
the role of journalism in a fragile information society
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60054/PEU.2024.11.184-191Keywords:
information crisis, infodemic, media policy, media accountability, journalismAbstract
An infodemic is a situation in which a lot of false information is being spread in a harmful way. It is a metaphor for virus-like spread of misleading information and disinformation. Although the term began to be used more often during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was officially diagnosed as the information crisis in the LSE Commission on Trust and Technology report in 2018. The report stated that the information crisis the world had faced was systemic, and it called for a coordinated long-term institutional response. Since then, the EU put a lot of effort in setting the policy framework to address this complex problem with countless social and economic consequences. After introducing the Communication and the Action Plan Against Disinformation (EC, 2018) the European Commission agreed on the key policy document -- the Code of Practice on Disinformation (2018, 2022). The Code contains 44 commitments and 128 specific measures, in the 8 main areas, but none is related to journalism. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of journalism as a profession of information verification, and a profession of publication the accountable and trustworthy information. EU media policy should provide a framework for trust in information society, and not platforms but journalism media should become the key partners in that framework.
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