The battle for t T


Jenny Sims reports on Ofcom research and a conference that looked at the public’s views on false online information and how news is produced


hree in 10 UK adults believe there is a single group of people who secretly control the world together, and a similar proportion believe there is significant evidence of large-scale election fraud, according research


by communications regulator Ofcom. How to combat election fraud, prevent damage to


democracy by the spread of mis- and disinformation on social media and restore trust in mainstream journalism were all explored at a conference organised by Ofcom. In line with its remit, it brought together a range of experts including academic researchers, media leaders and other stakeholders to share information and insights on what is being done to tackle both misinformation and disinformation.


Setting the scene, Alison Preston, Ofcom’s head of media, literacy policy and evaluation, commented on attitudes and habits in the current era of misinformation. She said research showed: “There is little understanding of the norms of journalism.” She added that the more something is understood to be edited, the less likely it is to be believed. The need to restore trust in mainstream journalism was a


key takeaway from the conference. Julie Firmstone, professor of journalism and political


communications at the University of Leeds, who attended the event, has been involved in research projects on the issues of ethical journalism and engaging the public in news literacy. She has written: “Ethically produced journalism that the


public can trust is essential to democracy. Declining public trust in journalism is already having social consequences, with misinformation, disinformation and the turn to unregulated social media making it harder for the public to develop the level of media literacy required to identify reliable information.” An analysis of focus groups that were part of a University of Leeds project funded by press regulator Impress concluded: “Trust is deeply intertwined with visibility – whether that is through branding on news articles, understanding what the code of conduct is, the ease and convenience of making a complaint if there has been perceived wrongdoing, generating more publicity about decisions made, or demanding that there are more obvious retractions, all of which would better


10 | theJournalist


hold news publications to account.” Ofcom’s report, Understanding Misinformation: an Exploration of UK Adults’ Behaviour and Attitudes (see boxes), found that over three-quarters of UK adults agree that it’s important to check different sources for news, and seven in 10 acknowledge that there will always be a mixture of reliable and unreliable information online. A quarter of people surveyed for the report said they used fact-checking tools, and one in 20 used BBC Verify regularly. But, as Marianna Spring, the BBC’s social media investigations correspondent and several other speakers and panellists said, fact checking is not enough. The Global Risks Report 2024 presented at the World Economic Forum in Zurich named misinformation and disinformation as top risks that could destabilise society as the legitimacy of election results may be questioned. It also said the convergence of the ‘post-truth era’, election processes and the surge in generative AI over the past year means that tech companies, governments and media must consider how they can help protect democracies. Although it is difficult to hold people on social media to


account, conference attendees learned about several initiatives that are already proving effective in tackling election misinformation and disinformation.


25%


of UK adults say they have used a fact checker website or tool at least once.


Tackling disinformation and conspiracies ‘Pre-bunking’ is a relatively new tool to enable people to identify misinformation before it gains traction. It presents pre-emptive counterarguments to false claims. Proponents compare it to vaccination. Misinformation has what was described as an ‘Achilles heel’ – it frequently employs repetitive tactics and patterns; by being able recognise these patterns, pre-bunking can anticipate and counteract future misinformation. Social enterprise Shout Out UK provides impartial political and media literacy training to young people, and campaigns on democratic engagement and combating disinformation online. Amanda Gurruchaga, its head of programmes, offered some insights into the work of the multi-award winning social enterprise at the conference. Its work is tailored to local circumstances and culture Shout Out UK’s podcast, Media Minded, focuses on


NUJ


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