Journalism: Fact-Checking, Objectivity, and the Digital Age Analysis

This essay examines the evolving landscape of journalism, focusing on the interplay between factual reporting and objectivity in the digital age. It highlights the increasing need for accurate information in a technology-driven world, while also acknowledging the challenges to objectivity stemming from factors like social media, political influences, and the 24-hour news cycle. The essay explores the rise of fact-checking initiatives and their impact, using the Coronavirus crisis as a case study to illustrate how various forces shape the dissemination of news and the perception of truth. The conclusion emphasizes that modern journalism is a complex mix of fact-based reporting and subjective influences, shaped by the technological advancements and various factors discussed in the analysis.

SOCIOLOGY
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM

Introduction
With the widespread connectivity through technology, the humans are not only
exposed to large amount of information, but also quite influenced by the same; which
significantly raises the need of the objectivity in the journalism (McNair, 2017). Thus, the
role of journalism has evolved to be even more critical than before. Following is an attempt
to evaluate the contrasting aspects of journalism that are the facts and the objectivity in
context of today’s times.
Analysis
With the leveraging of journalism with the use of varied technologies, internet of
things and the social media platforms, there is even a greater need of the factual assertions
being gathered and delivered to the audiences. The facts of the news pieces must be
necessarily evaluated for accuracy. Over the years, there is a rise in the fact checking of the
statements made by the politicians and others with the initiatives like “PolitiFact.” In
addition, the social media giants have entered into partnerships to enable efficient
dissemination of the information. Some of the activities therein include monitoring of the
pages and domains that are engaged in the sharing of debunked news stories, as was done by
the “Facebook” and “Snopes” partnership (Owen, 2019). In yet another instance of rise in the
fact checking, the UK based organisation “Full Fact” is engaged in the automated approach
where the statements and news pieces are cross checked with the databases maintained by the
research institutions, the Government, and independent experts. Thus, the digital era of
journalism has witnessed a rise in the fact checking.
With the rise in the fact checking exercises, there is prevalent a cult of objectivity in
journalism. However, it would be wrong to state that the journalism of today is based on
absolute objectivity. Some of the factors contributing to the lack of objectivity are listed as
follows. The prime factor is the lack of circulation of the newspapers, and magazines and
such. As a result, most of the information gathered is through the online groups and social
media where the readers are not able to distinguish between the credibility of the sources. For
instance, in the wake of the on-going Coronavirus crisis around the globe, there are tons of
WhatsApp messages being circulated. While some are creating panic, others include fake
news of the cures, remedies, and death toll of the disease. Some other factors are the reporters

and newsreaders holding independent beliefs leading to biasness in coverage and
presentations, 24 hours news cycle, enhanced national and global competition, and the
political effects. Citing the example of the Coronavirus crisis once again, it is believed that
the government controlled media of China has been carefully curating the news pieces now to
make sure that successful containment of the coronavirus is shown to the audiences abroad,
after the initial global backlash of the ill handling of the pandemic (The Wall Street Journal,
2020).
Conclusion
The discussions conducted in the previous parts aid to conclude that the journalism of
the present times as leveraged by the technological advancement is both a mix of the fact
checking and the lack of the objectivity. The several factors contribute to the same, and have
been highlighted in the previous sections.

References
The Wall Street Journal (2020). China’s Glowing Coronavirus-Response Coverage Triggers
Anger at State Media. Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-glowing-
coronavirus-response-coverage-triggers-anger-at-state-media-11584529203
Owen, L. H. (2019). Full Fact has been fact-checking Facebook posts for six months. Here’s
what they think needs to change. Retrieved from:
https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/07/full-fact-has-been-fact-checking-facebook-posts-
for-six-months-heres-what-they-think-needs-to-change/
McNair, B. (2017). After objectivity? Schudson’s sociology of journalism in the era of post-
factuality. Journalism Studies, 18(10), 1318-1333.