Leitfaden

Wie sollten Journalisten mit Fake News umgehen?

Ways to combat disinformation - A short guideline. 

What does it mean to be a journalist in the era of disinformation?

With disinformation democracy is at stake. Society at large is in demand. Disinformation is multi-faceted: It reaches from propaganda, PR, false narratives, wrong contexts to deep fakes.

1) Inform yourself about the history of disinformation -they appear regularly. Identify underlying social shifts and report about them. 

2) Practice social journalism. Get to know your audience and implement diversity, do not act elite. Become aware of biases, try to put them aside. 

3) Be transparent about journalistic practices and honest about mistakes, do not fall into the trap of a good-looking story

4) Be critical with the term FAKE NEWS, there is not only two types of "truth", also be honest about mistakes

5) COLLABORATE with others, and meet your audience at eye-level, journalism is an interactive field, your work will become more effective

6) Strengthen LOCAL MEDIA, they stay, when national media has lost interest also work with correspondents to get the local view

7) Fight for RESSOURCES, remind politicians that qualitative journalism has its price, and inform public of what would happen otherwise

8) Strengthen MEDIA LITERACY and do not just blame media users, educate them about topics like media landscape, fact vs. opinion and business models

9) Use clever TECHNOLOGY to monitor comments and to detect disinformation , be creative and brave when it comes to new formates

Why? Journalism shapes future. It connects people. It influences how we perceive the world. It controls those in power. It can get things moving. And gives a voice to the otherwise unheard. qualitative journalism is crucial, Do not let disinformation harm it