The Framing of “Fake News” by US Online News Media Channels & Its Relationship with Political Leaning
Introduction to Our Research
“Fake news” is a term that is being thrown around by the media a lot these days.
Since the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, the term fake news has become a mainstay in the lexicon of both the news media and the general public. A result of the high choice media environment we now live in and the 24 hour news cycle, we are now constantly bombarded by information… and disinformation.
Gone are the days of taking information relayed by the news media at face value. The well informed citizen must now choose their news sources wisely. Important to remember here is that all news media outlets are not created equally. Many hold political biases and fall in a range of places along the political spectrum accordingly. Meaning that those who are left-leaning could portray an issue in a different way than those who are right-leaning. Framing matters.
With this in mind, it becomes necessary to consider how the news media frames the ongoing issue of fake news. To further explore this concern, a research project was conducted.
Our Study
Our study sheds lights on how the political leaning of specific US online media channels, CNN(Left) and Fox News (Right), affect the way they frame the ongoing ethical issue,“fake news.” We asked the question “Do right-leaning and left-leaning online news media channels in the US frame the ongoing issue of fake news differently?” To do so, we conducted content analysis for 20 articles from each media outlet (CNN & Fox News) by using search parameters including “Fake News,” “Alternative Facts,” and “Post Truth.” These articles were collected within a three week period, from September 17th, 2018 to October 8th, 2018.
Key Findings from CNN
During a three week period, CNN’s reporting on fake news focused on three main topics: Donald Trump, social media, and sexual assault. Most of the articles about Trump had to do with his policy adjustments and inauguration. More interestingly, most of these articles were clarifying reports and accusations of fake news. Trump “debunked” CNN reports on himself as “fake news.” Articles that talked about fake news on social media were mainly associated with Twitter , photos and memes. Many articles talked about the sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, and all of these articles were about refuting accusations.
Key Findings from Fox News
The term “fake news” was used constantly by Fox News in the three week study period. Similarly to CNN, Fox News’ usage of the term “fake news” in its reporting focused on these three main topics: Donald Trump, Social Media, and Sexual Assault. The term was used significantly in reports related to Donald Trump; Fox News used quotations by Trump that contained the term “fake news” as supporting material to reject accusations against Trump. More specifically, many of these articles were discussing Trump’s position on CNN and how he refers to it as a fake news medium. Fox News also used this term when reporting on the sexual assault allegations concerning the Kavanaugh judicial appointment. It was interesting to examine how the term was used as a powerful defense in opposition to such allegations. In addition, the term was used by Fox News to refer to the emergence of the fake news phenomenon across media; one article examined Apple’s Safari and its relationship with spreading false information.
Conclusion
Looking to the future, it seems that fake news will continue to gain traction. The mass media is an essential component of our democratic society. That being said, we must monitor the ways in which both left-wing and right-wing news media channels frame fake news into their stories. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the political leaning of a source when consuming as it can affect the ways in which we think about that topic.
In the time period of our content analysis, both CNN (left) and Fox(right) showed similarities in how the term “fake news” was used in articles related to Donald Trump, Sexual Assault, and Social media.
Evidently, those within such democratic institutions must not passively assume that fake news has one clear-cut definition, as our research has concluded that is not accurate.
Instead, we must be aware of how political leaning influences the reporting of news media channels including how Fox and CNN frame fake news.
Overall, exploring the usage of the term “fake news” is important to consider when engaging with news media, and it needs more in-depth research.