‘Big Lies’: understanding the role of political actors and mainstream journalists in the spread of disinformation
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Much of the scholarly attention on disinformation has focussed on the role of social media, thus overlooking the political actors who themselves propagate disinformation and the mainstream news outlets that report on them. In this article we argue that disinformation has now become so widespread because outright lies are an effective way for political actors to attract and manage public attention. Political strategists have likewise worked out that cognitive biases and social factors are strong enough to overcome the ‘rational’ impulses of citizens who should, notionally, reject obvious lies. And, finally, journalists, who should be a bulwark against such behaviour, have mostly failed to address this problem because of an overly cosy relationship with those in power, and because of a lingering fealty to ‘objectivity’. We conclude the article by arguing that journalism needs to significantly re-think how it approaches the political field.
Source: Media International Australia
Institutions: Queensland University of Technology, RMIT University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,450
Funder: Australian Research Council
OpenAlex ID: W4403693228