Impact of Fake News on Trust in Journalism

Abstract

Fake news’ has become one of the major problems of the modern journalism that undermines the very basis of the democratic states – trust. This paper analyses the effects that fake news have on the credibility and the media institutions more widely among the public. Using surveys, interviews and content analysis, the reduced trust levels in participants exposed to fake news are clearly evidenced in the study. This paper argues that social network sites are the leading sources of fake news, thereby worsening the general decline in confidence. Furthermore, the paper analyses psychological factors affecting the level of trust in journalism and the overall consequences of the trend for civic journalism. Concerning the present fundamental problem of falsification and misleading information in the information sphere, the goal of this study is to expand the discussion on how to restore confidence in journalism in the context of modern digital reality and revealing the ways to counteract the spread of fake news foster media literacy.