Ensuring media security in the era of information globalization

The aim of the study is to identify key threats to media security and ways of their minimization. The methods of statistical analysis, case studies, content analysis, and rating analysis were used in the article. The study established that the biggest threat to media security is the spread of misinformation. This threat is complex because of the ability to spread in multiple ways and channels using a number of tools hybridized by misinformation, including propaganda, fake news, information leakage, manipulation, falsification of media content, etc. The spread of disinformation from Russia and China is of particular concern. Case study proved that disinformation is spread in many ways, and new media only deepen this problem. The consequences of the use of disinformation are public unrest, riots, mistrust of the media, and a threat to democratic values. The main areas of ensuring media security are defined as: application of technological measures, improvement of the legislative framework at the national and international levels, improvement of media literacy of the population through appropriate educational programmes and specialized campaigns. The results of the study can be used by government officials and media content providers to improve media security

Special Section on Comparative Approaches to Mis/Disinformation: Introduction

From misleading news articles around elections in Brazil and the United States to mob lynchings fueled by false social media messages in India to made-up stories about COVID-19 vaccination, a deluge of disinformation and misinformation is affecting various aspects of citizens’ lives around the world. Although there is an increasing number of research papers dealing with disinformation or misinformation, a majority of these have focused on the United States. This Special Section on comparative approaches to mis/disinformation features conceptual and data-informed articles with international and global perspectives on the prevalence, impact, and diffusion of mis/disinformation in different countries. Articles selected for the Special Section provide new theoretical and empirical contributions to existing bodies of knowledge whether focusing on one country or offering comparative perspectives involving multiple countries. The articles, individually and collectively, offer important scholarly and policy implications for studying and combating mis/disinformation around the world

Disinformation and Fact-Checking in Contemporary Society

Funded by the European Media and Information Fund and research project PID2022-142755OB-I00

What Measures Can Government Institutions in Germany Take Against Digital Disinformation? A Systematic Literature Review and Ethical-Legal Discussion

Disinformation campaigns spread rapidly through social media and can cause serious harm, especially in crisis situations, ranging from confusion about how to act to a loss of trust in government institutions. Therefore, the prevention of digital disinformation campaigns represents an important research topic. However, previous research in the field of information systems focused on the technical possibilities to detect and combat disinformation, while ethical and legal perspectives have been neglected so far. In this article, we synthesize previous information systems literature on disinformation prevention measures and discuss these measures from an ethical and legal perspective. We conclude by proposing questions for future research on the prevention of disinformation campaigns from an IS, ethical, and legal perspective. In doing so, we contribute to a balanced discussion on the prevention of digital disinformation campaigns that equally considers technical, ethical, and legal issues, and encourage increased interdisciplinary collaboration in future research

Examining the Problem of Misinformation among the Indian Diaspora in Australia

This report provides a preliminary mapping of the key issues and needs in relation to misinformation and disinformation among the Indian diasporic communities in Australia. The report draws on a roundtable discussion with 15 stakeholders. This roundtable focused on: (1) - the everyday experiences community members encountered in relation to mis/disinformation during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) - Australian and international misinformation and disinformation approaches and fact-checking initiatives; (3) - possible partnerships and solutions to combat these challenges. The report outlines a direction for the development of a national strategy to combat information vulnerabilities among multicultural communities. It makes special reference to the Indian diasporic communities, which it engaged through a co-design approach with the active participation of community stakeholders, NGOs, fact-checking organisations, government agencies, national media, and academic researchers

The battle to end fake news: A qualitative content analysis of Facebook announcements on how it combats disinformation

The recent spread of online disinformation has been profound and has played a central role in the growth of populist sentiments around the world. Facilitating its progression has been politically and economically motivated culprits who have ostensibly taken advantage of the digital freedoms available to them. At the heart of these freedoms lie social media organisations that only a few years earlier techno-optimists were identifying as catalysts of an enhanced digital democracy. In order to curtail the erosion of information, policy reform will no doubt be essential. The UK's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Disinformation and ‘fake news’ Report and Cairncross Review, and the European Commission's Report on Disinformation are three recent examples seeking to investigate how precisely such reform policy might be implemented. Just as important is how social media organisations take on more responsibility and apply self-regulating mechanisms that stifle disinformation across their platforms (something the aforementioned reports identify). Doing so will go a long way in restoring legitimacy in these significant institutions. Facebook (which includes Instagram and Whatsapp), is the largest social media organisation in the world and must primarily bear the burden of this responsibility. The purpose of this article is to offer a descriptive account of Facebook's public announcements regarding how it tackles disinformation and fake news. Based on a qualitative content analysis covering the period November 16th 2016–March 4th 2019, this article will set out some groundwork on how to hold social media platforms more accountable for how they handle disinformation

The Future of Cyber-Enabled Influence Operations: Emergent Technologies, Disinformation, and the Destruction of Democracy

Nation-states have been embracing online influence campaigns through disinformation at breakneck speeds. Countries such as China and Russia have completely revamped their military doctrine to information-first platforms [1, 2] (Mattis, Peter. (2018). China’s Three Warfares in Perspective. War on the Rocks. Special Series: Ministry of Truth. https://warontherocks.com/2018/01/chinas-three-warfares-perspective/, Cunningham, C. (2020). A Russian Federation Information Warfare Primer. Then Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. Washington University. https://jsis.washington.edu/news/a-russian-federation-information-war fare-primer/.) to compete with the United States and the West. The Chinese principle of “Three Warfares” and Russian Hybrid Warfare have been used and tested across the spectrum of operations ranging from competition to active conflict. With the COVID19 pandemic limiting most means of face-to-face interpersonal communi-cation, many other nations have transitioned to online tools to influence audiences both domestically and abroad [3] (Strick, B. (2020). COVID-19 Disinformation: Attempted Influence in Disguise. Australian Strategic Policy Institute. International Cyber Policy Center. https://www.aspi.org.au/report/covid-19-disinformation.) to create favorable environments for their geopolitical goals and national objectives. This chapter focuses on the landscape that allows nations like China and Russia to attack democratic institutions and discourse within the United States, the strategies and tactics employed in these campaigns, and the emergent technologies that will enable these nations to gain an advantage with key populations within their spheres of influence or to create a disadvantage to their competitors within their spheres of influence. Advancements in machine learning through generative adversarial networks [4] (Creswell, A; White, T; Dumoulin, V; Arulkumaran, K; Sengupta, B; Bharath, A. (2017) Generative Adversarial Networks: An Overview. IEE-SPM. April 2017. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1710.07035.pdf.) that create deepfakes [5] (Whit-taker, L; Letheren, K; Mulcahy, R. (2021). The Rise of Deepfakes: A Conceptual J. Littell envelope symbolenvelope symbolenvelope symbol Army Cyber Institute at the West Point, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 10996, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 A.Farhadietal. (eds.), The Great Power Competition Volume 3, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04586-8_10 197 198 J. Littell Framework and Research Agenda for Marketing. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/ abs/10.1177/1839334921999479.) and attention-based transformers [6](https:// arxiv.org/abs/1810.04805.) (Devlin et al., 2018) that create realistic speech patterns and interaction will continue to plague online discussion and information spread, attempting to cause further partisan divisions and decline of U.S. stature on the world stage and democracy as a whole.https://digitalcommons.usmalibrary.org/aci_books/1020/thumbnail.jp

A CONCEPTUAL MODEL TO PROTECT BRAND REPUTATION FACING ” FAKE NEWS”

openThis study aims to explore the nature and impact of Fake News on brands and their customers, identify different categories of Fake News, and propose a conceptual model for companies to protect their brand reputation and mitigate the effects of Fake News. The research focuses on the managerial approaches and methodologies that brands can adopt to counter Fake News and safeguard their reputation in the digital era. A comprehensive literature review examines existing studies on Fake News, brand management, and the impact of Fake News on brands and consumers, highlighting the gaps in the literature. The review defines and categorizes Fake News, explores techniques for detecting and mitigating it, and investigates the relationship between Fake News and brand management. The findings reveal a lack of research on the managerial strategies for brands to tackle Fake News effectively. The study emphasizes the importance of developing proactive measures to detect and counter Fake News, as well as building resilience against Fake News attacks. By addressing these gaps, the study aims to contribute to the development of effective strategies for brands to navigate the challenges posed by Fake News in the digital media landscape.This study aims to explore the nature and impact of Fake News on brands and their customers, identify different categories of Fake News, and propose a conceptual model for companies to protect their brand reputation and mitigate the effects of Fake News. The research focuses on the managerial approaches and methodologies that brands can adopt to counter Fake News and safeguard their reputation in the digital era. A comprehensive literature review examines existing studies on Fake News, brand management, and the impact of Fake News on brands and consumers, highlighting the gaps in the literature. The review defines and categorizes Fake News, explores techniques for detecting and mitigating it, and investigates the relationship between Fake News and brand management. The findings reveal a lack of research on the managerial strategies for brands to tackle Fake News effectively. The study emphasizes the importance of developing proactive measures to detect and counter Fake News, as well as building resilience against Fake News attacks. By addressing these gaps, the study aims to contribute to the development of effective strategies for brands to navigate the challenges posed by Fake News in the digital media landscape

Countering misinformation: Strategies, challenges, and uncertainties

Exemplification research has consistently shown effects of vox pops’ exemplars on audience judgments, whereby people tend to follow the opinion of a few fellow citizens. In this study, we gain some insight into why—and especially for whom—ordinary citizens are such influential “opinion-givers.” Importantly, we look at populist attitudes as a potential moderator for exemplification effects by comparing news reports containing vox pops with purely journalistic news reports providing the same arguments. In a web-based experiment, we show that both perceptual and persuasive effects are moderated by participants’ populist attitudes, and thus, their resonance with the “voice of the people.