This week’s case study is arguably an interesting one because of the way it was handled by journalists and social media websites.The 2016 U.S Presidential Election is widely remembered for its volatility and countless conspiracy theories. It highlights the power of fake news and how digital technology has created a necessity for fact checking in journalism, but also the need for audiences to have a critical eye when consuming information.

A Brief Outline

As most news is now accessible online and through social media, it has allowed scope for the term ‘fake news’ to arise. We must remember that, arguably, such accessibility has only been made possible through the rise in digital technology, with an estimated 5 billion people owning mobile devices (over half of these being smartphones) and with most millennials accessing their political news via Facebook. Shao et al. (2017) say that the spread of false information is a major global risk and has the ability to threaten democracy. During the 2016 U.S Presidential Election, Hillary Clinton’s reputation was damaged due to a, now debunked, conspiracy involving her. Even after official news companies debunked the theory, “Hillary haters continued to revile her”, according to Kline (2017).

The Pizzagate Conspiracy, 2016

The Pizzagate Conspiracy is a prime example of fake news. You can read the story here if you are not familiar. Many powerful politicians and power brokers were suspected to be involved, even Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović. Various emails were first released on Wikileaks, to which they then were picked up by prank sites and, in no time at all, the false story gained traction. This story highlights the power of social media and the dangers that can arise if audience’s are not active and critical of information they consume.

Social Media Influences

Members of alt-right and other people in Clinton’s campaign quickly spread the conspiracy over various kinds of social media, Twitter being one of the main tools.

The conspiracy escalated to the point where Edgar Maddison Welch entered the pizza parlour with a rifle. Police say that Welch had “learned of news reports that a child sex-trafficking ring was being conducted.” However, the question must be asked: would this have been possible without the efficiency of social media in spreading the story?
Social media also allows people to respond to inaccurate claims, albeit physically or online. One of Hillary Clinton’s reactions to the conspiracy can be seen here. If this story was to fall onto the wrong person’s timeline, there is little to stop them adding false information to accelerate the story further.

Is Social Media to Blame?

Social media is used by many journalists, and also by the public, to inform others of opinions. This is often referred to as the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). At times, this ZMOT is filled with inaccurate information. This theory can be applied to news as, arguably, the internet has influenced how we choose what to read; we read what we find engaging and then are susceptible to absorbing false information. 1/3 of social media users share news via social media at least once a month. It is becoming far easier to view, like and share stories that appear on newsfeeds. If these engaging stories are inaccurate, this potentially causes a major blur between false information and the truth.

Therefore, to some extent, social media may be to blame. However, the technology that has made accessibility so easy is also partly to blame. Smartphones are now just as important for news as TV and radio, with mobile news notifications growing 8% in the US in 2017. With information and news stories now being accessible on the go, people are more exposed to false information. Without ease of social media accessibility, the story may have never reached the mass of people it did.

What This Teaches Us and the Impact on Journalism

The conspiracy teaches us how easy it can be to make a hoax story global. If audiences passively accept what they read online, major problems can arise. Additionally, social media has allowed the general public to generate and contribute to stories, posing a serious threat to the reputation of the journalism industry. The University of Sheffield suggests that local journalists are vital to combating false information Dr Reilly said:

“While citizens played a role in sharing tweets that corrected rumours, mis-and disinformation shared on social media during these incidents, it is clear that professional journalists have a critical role to play in fact checking .”

Thus, Dr Reilly is suggesting that the containment of false information is the responsibility of both the public and the journalist. Dr Reilly’s claims may be a key responsibility in the future of journalism; will it help to maintain journalist’s reliable reputations?

To Conclude…

It is evident that the Pizzagate Conspiracy caused huge uproar across the digital and traditional media world affecting many reputations. The digital world has made it increasingly easier to spread information rapidly, whether this be true or false. Arguably, the story has taught us that the responsibility to regulate news arguably lies with both journalists and audiences. Journalists arguably need to be critical in their fact checking before producing stories, whilst audiences need to be critical in the information they are consuming and determine the reliability of the source.

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Further Reading:

Kline, J., 2017. C. G. Jung and Norman Cohn Explain Pizzagate: The Archetypal Dimension of a Conspiracy Theory. Psychological Perspectives [online], 60 (2), 186-195.

Shao, C., Ciampaglia, G.L., Varol, O., Flammini, A. and Menczer, F., 2017. The spread of fake news by social bots [online], 96-104.

University of Sheffield., 2018. Politicians and local journalism key to combating ‘fake news’, study shows [online]. Sheffield: University of Sheffield. Available from: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/fake-news-study-social-media-journalism-impact-northern-ireland-uk-1.801617 [Accessed 8 December 2019].