Journalism and Media

The rise of social media has democratized information sharing, allowing ordinary individuals to become influential voices in public discourse. However, traditional methods for identifying influential users rely primarily on network centrality measures that fail to capture the behavioral dynamics underlying actual influence capacity in digital environments. This study introduces the Social Influence Strength Index (SISI), a metric grounded in social impact theory that assesses influence through behavioral engagement indicators rather than network structure alone. The SISI combines three key elements: the average engagement rate, follower reach score, and mention prominence score, using a geometric mean to account for the multiplicative nature of social influence. This was developed and validated using a dataset of 1.2 million tweets from South African migration discussions, a context characterized by high emotional engagement and diverse participant types. SISI’s behavioral principles make it applicable for identifying influential voices across various social media contexts where authentic engagement matters. The results demonstrate substantial divergence between SISI and traditional centrality measures (Spearman ρ = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.32–0.36 with eigenvector centrality; top-10 user overlap Jaccard index = 0.20), with the SISI consistently recognizing behaviorally influential users that network-based approaches overlook. Validation analyses confirm the SISI’s predictive validity (high-SISI users maintain 3.5× higher engagement rates in subsequent periods, p < 0.001), discriminant validity (distinguishing content creators from amplifiers, Cohen’s d = 1.32), and convergent validity with expert assessments (Spearman ρ = 0.61 vs. ρ = 0.28 for eigenvector centrality). The research reveals that digital influence stems from genuine audience engagement and community recognition rather than structural network positioning. By integrating social science theory with computational methods, this work presents a theoretically grounded framework for measuring digital influence, with potential applications in understanding information credibility, audience mobilization, and the evolving dynamics of social media-driven public discourse across diverse domains including marketing, policy communication, and digital information ecosystems. Full article

New media technologies have enabled freedom of expression through platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. These freedoms are amplified through engagement with jokes and memes circulating on these platforms. The study analyzes the political uses of memes circulating on WhatsApp by youths in Bulawayo. The literature on the dynamics around the circulation of jokes or memes on social media has under-explored the role of jokes in Zimbabwe. Using Habermas’s theory of the public sphere and Bakhtin’s theory of the carnivalesque, the author interviewed 14 youths using semi-structured interviews and conducted a focus group discussion, in which 5 youths participated, to obtain a deeper understanding of issues raised during the interviews. The study found that youths use memes to laugh, stimulate debate, confront those in leadership and participate in offline socio-political activities. It was concluded that, while they appear to be light-hearted, memes give youths the power to challenge official narratives. Full article

This article examines how K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) portrays women’s agency and sorority while curating Korean cultural specificity within the context of global streaming. Adopting a Gender Media Studies approach, the study conducts a scene-indexed close reading of nine key sequences, applying a coding scheme (co-presence, agency, solidarity, body framing, choreography–camera, colour) and a cultural-codes matrix that classifies elements as retained, hybridised, or globalised. Findings show a consistent pattern: when two or more women protagonists appear together, agency and sorority co-occur; this is visible in the narrative arcs and through full-body staging, ensemble composition, and a persistent we/together rhetoric. Korean local specificity is divided by purpose: English-led song hooks extend transnational reach; retained social anchors (space, ritual, foodways, and folklore) preserve locality; and hybridised cues (stylised folklore; idol/traditional blends) manage cultural density without erasure. Authorship and industry context align with this encoding, combining a women centred creative core and Korean cast with on-screen emphasis on women’s friendship, repair, and shared agency. Two tensions remain: traditional attire in spectacle numbers, and the narrow body diversity in the idol-slim body ideal, inviting comparative and interpretative scrutiny. Overall, the case demonstrates how an animated musical can emphasise women’s empowerment and cultural specificity without reducing either to mere marketing tools. Full article

The objective of this study is to determine if the thematic priorities of news organizations are consistent or platform-specific by investigating the cross-platform strategies of three leading Bulgarian news agencies. Methodologically, the study combines a quantitative TF-IDF text analysis of 315,103 headlines from their websites and 6961 titles from their official YouTube channels with a qualitative analysis of YouTube thumbnails to assess their strategic visual contribution. The findings reveal a significant strategic divergence: YouTube channels are primarily dedicated to high-impact domestic political news centered on key public figures, while their official websites feature a much broader thematic scope, covering international conflicts or extensive cultural events. The thumbnail analysis further shows they function as a critical visual layer, adding emotional context and explicit cues that are not present in text headlines. This research concludes that news agencies do not simply mirror content but strategically adapt it to leverage the unique characteristics and audience expectations of each platform, employing distinct models for their YouTube and web presences. Full article

The spread of disinformation and the subsequent social pushback have elevated fact-checking to a core activity in modern newsrooms. Amid efforts to rebuild public trust, news media and dedicated organizations have expanded verification routines, institutionalizing fact-checking—a process globally stress-tested during the COVID-19 crisis. We conducted a content analysis of 25 fact-checking outlets’ public websites across Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany. Across cases, we identified a dual content strategy: (a) routine fact-checks targeting circulating falsehoods, and (b) complementary contextual pieces (explainers, in-depth reports, and analyses) that frame issues and processes. Both layers adhere to a shared culture of method, format, and transparency, often reflected in standards like IFCN and EFCSN, though methodological transparency remains an area for improvement. These outlets primarily focused on online disinformation but also monitored public discourse, with several showing degrees of topical or procedural specialization. These findings suggest that European fact-checking has matured into a hybrid model that combines routine debunking with context-building journalism under common professional norms, while requiring clearer methodological disclosure and cross-platform consolidation. Full article

The study examines the complexities of the Aláròyé newspaper’s digital transformation. It seeks to understand how the organisation’s matrix, which includes circulation, readers, and advertising revenue, has been impacted by the shift to digital platforms while preserving its historical print business. Anchored on the uses and gratifications as well as technological determinism theory, the study demonstrates how digital technology influences the operational structures of media organisations. The study adopts a qualitative research design through interviews (with the newspaper’s publisher) and netnography with the newspaper’s social media community on Facebook. Data obtained are qualitatively analysed using the thematic analysis method. Findings from the study show that Aláròyé has made significant strides in embracing technology to enhance its operations, marking a notable shift from traditional practices to more modern, digital-driven strategies. The reception from the audience has been positive, with a growing number of readers engaging with the content across various digital platforms. The shift to digital media has allowed Aláròyé to expand its reach and foster a stronger connection with its audience, which is essential for the long-term success of the indigenous language newspaper. The study enhances the existing scholarship on indigenous language media by elucidating adaptive strategies and audience dynamics within African digital journalism. This establishes a framework for comprehending how indigenous language news outlets can sustain relevance in the digital era by preserving their cultural identity and social mission. Full article

By triangulating sentiment trends, topic models, and ideological variance, this study shows how digital publics respond to significant shifts in US foreign policy. We analyze Reddit discussions of the 20 January 2025 90-day freeze on US foreign assistance, with a focus on USAID, across partisan (r/Democrats and r/Republican) and neutral (r/fednews) subreddits. Using Structural Topic Modeling and sentiment analysis on posts and comments collected via ArcticShift, we find clear polarization in framing and tone. Overall sentiment was predominantly negative, but sources of negativity diverged: Republican forums emphasized fiscal responsibility, government waste, and national sovereignty; Democratic forums emphasized humanitarian harm and institutional erosion; r/fednews foregrounded institutional, legal, and administrative concerns. Topic-prevalence estimates reveal that themes such as executive overreach and aid justification were prominent but framed differently by the community. The findings highlight Reddit’s role as an arena for contesting and reframing policy debates. Full article

Misinformation circulating on social media presents a critical challenge for journalism and media education in the digital age. Beyond individual news consumption, it reflects broader concerns about cognitive processing and the cultivation of transversal competencies that underpin responsible digital citizenship. This study examines how foundational literacy shapes online fact-checking behavior through the mediating role of news literacy and whether this relationship is moderated by heuristic–systematic processing within social media environments. An online survey of South Korean college students was conducted, and moderated mediation analysis revealed that foundational literacy indirectly fosters fact-checking through enhanced news literacy. However, reliance on heuristic shortcuts weakened this pathway, highlighting how cognitive biases can undermine critical verification in digital contexts. These findings suggest that journalism education would benefit from moving beyond functional skills to incorporate awareness of platform-driven information flows, reflective media engagement, and critical evaluation into curricula. By positioning news literacy as a core competency for contemporary digital environments, this study contributes to ongoing discussions on how higher education can prepare future journalists and media users to navigate complex, technology-mediated information ecosystems with ethical and epistemic responsibility. Full article

This study aims to examine transformations in television based on how its intersections with digital media destabilise one of the main distinguishing features of television genres: direct broadcasting. Does temporal simultaneity, which historically acted as a strategy for authenticating the effects of presence and present time in television mediations, still hold in the face of the new spectatorial experience interconnected with digital networks? To answer this question, this paper proposes that the complex temporal dynamics of digital networks, based on the idea of connectivity and algorithmic logic, alters our experience of television time, no longer recognised only by simultaneous action, but also by the action of multiple presences continually updated through comments, reactions, memes, reposts, edits, etc. This study’s provocative arguments begin with the literature on the relationship between direct broadcasting and present time in the constitution of television genres, highlighting their distinctions when considering television interface with digital networks. The proposed approach is based on the conceptual articulation between the notions of connectivity and networked audiovisual as a means of understanding the effects of presence and present time in the television experience within a digital context. Full article

This study innovatively moves beyond traditional mono-method research by employing an integrated approach that synergizes corpus linguistics and text mining. Through sentiment, thematic, and collocational analyses, it critically examines the representation of China’s image in European media coverage of the China–EU electric vehicle dispute. Initially, sentiment analysis of news reports concerning EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles was conducted. Subsequently, four key themes emerged from analyzing a corpus consisting of 202 news articles: “market reaction,”; “trade war,” “China’s response,” and “dialogue and negotiation.” Finally, collocation analysis of the keywords “China” and “Beijing” reveals four main images of China in European media: China is framed as the unfair-subsidy provider, threatener, negotiator, and defender. The key conclusion is that European media coverage is characterized by discursive ambivalence, simultaneously portraying China as both a threat and a partner. These findings are significant as they illuminate how media discourse serves as a key arena where the economic and political complexities of the China–EU trade conflict are negotiated, legitimized, and managed. Full article

This study analyzed 911 articles from three major newspapers—Vanguard, Daily Trust, and Leadership—using framing theory to assess coverage. Content analysis revealed most headlines were positively framed. The most prevalent frame was attribution of responsibility, while the morality frame appeared least frequently. These findings underscore the influential role of media framing in shaping public health perceptions and highlight the impact of social and political influencers on pandemic-related information dissemination. Full article

This paper relies on the conceptual framework of affordances to study collective action, focusing on the under-researched area of wartime collective efforts. Using the case study of collective action during the war in Ukraine, the paper analyses a sample of the most successful Facebook profiles engaging in collective action to support the military and humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and uncovers the various approaches to the organisation of collective action. The paper explores the common features and differences between activists, including approaches to presentation, user engagement, interaction, and reporting. Two groups of profiles are identified based on how they actualise Facebook affordances: organisational and individual profiles. The two groups were found to clearly differ in their approach to user engagement, posting patterns and the use of specific Facebook functions. The findings have implications regarding the organisation of collective initiatives by different actors and contribute to a better understanding of the unique challenges of wartime CA. Full article

This study examines how environmental journalists in Eastern Indonesia develop innovative digital strategies to counter corporate disinformation while maintaining credible climate reporting amid systematic censorship and algorithmic suppression. Through ethnographic fieldwork with 34 environmental journalists in Makassar and surrounding maritime communities (2023–2024), combined with digital platform analysis and content verification tracking, this investigation reveals how local journalists create “networked verification archipelagos” that mirror traditional maritime communication systems to combat extractive industry misinformation. Our analysis revealed three primary counter-disinformation mechanisms: (1) community-based verification networks that successfully identified 87% of corporate misinformation within 48 h through traditional knowledge integration; (2) algorithmic resistance strategies that increased environmental content visibility by 156% through cultural framing techniques; and (3) cross-platform coordination that maintained journalist communication networks despite 34 documented censorship campaigns. These networks enable accurate environmental reporting despite corporate-sponsored disinformation campaigns, government restrictions on mining coverage, and social media algorithms that amplify climate denial content. The research demonstrates how journalists in the Global South develop decolonial approaches to counter-disinformation that challenge Western platform-centric fact-checking models while maintaining journalistic credibility and community accountability. These findings contribute to understanding power dynamics and coloniality in disinformation studies while offering insights for media literacy and democratic integrity in climate-vulnerable regions. Full article

Disinformation poses a substantive challenge to democratic governance, particularly in contexts marked by foreign influence. While the broadcasting of Russia Today (RT) in Europe has received significant attention, comparatively little is known about its impact and audience reception in Latin America. This study addresses this gap by analysing Ecuadorians’ perceptions and uptake of RT’s broadcast narratives during a period of acute economic and security crisis. The objectives are (1) to establish the news narratives presented on RT, (2) to identify citizens’ perceptions of the news narratives, and (3) to determine the uptake of the narratives. A mixed methodological approach is undertaken, including narrative analysis of three audiovisual news pieces published by RT in Spanish, a survey, and three online focus groups. The results reveal the deployment of sophisticated narrative strategies that mix information with unsubstantiated claims and emotional appeals, resulting in a discernible bias favouring Russian perspectives. The findings underscore the urgency of strengthening media literacy and public policy responses in Latin America to counter the internalisation of such narratives. In addition, the research contributes to debates on information security, democratic resilience, and the protection of public opinion in vulnerable environments. Full article

University Dual Training is constructed at the intersection of academic and professional spheres, shaping a complex and multifaceted educational model. The aim of this study is to analyze the media representation of University Dual Training within the Spanish higher education landscape. The analysis focused on news articles published in the digital press of Spanish universities between 2021 and 2025. Following the methodological principles of a systematic review, a total of 81 news items (comprising 747 lexical segments) were identified and categorized 60 from 25 public universities and 21 from 7 private institutions. Data analysis, supported by the MAXQDA 24 software, enabled the identification of trends in the use of keywords, temporal evolution, and prevailing themes, along with the degree of relevance attributed to this training modality. The findings reveal an institutional tendency in media dissemination centred on promoting University Dual Training as a pathway for educational innovation, highlighting experiences and collaborations with companies, and projecting a discourse in which universities present themselves as committed to this modality. The study concludes that digital university newspapers convey the relevance and impact of University Dual Training as a modality that brings together diverse stakeholders, creating a space of collaboration and shared responsibility that strengthens student training and employability. Full article

This study explores the relationship between journalistic background, content creation experience, and self-reported information literacy among global content creators. Based on an online survey of 500 content creators in eight languages around the world, the study explains whether journalistic training or experience in content creation influences perceived information literacy, while controlling for education and economic development of the country. Results indicate that both having a journalistic background and content creation experience significantly predict perceived information literacy, with education of creators as a significant covariate. Economic development (Global South vs. Global North) is not a significant factor. Grounded in Flavell’s metacognitive theory, the findings suggest that content creators gain confidence in evaluating information through having a journalistic background and content creator experience, even if their actual ability remains untested. The implications of perceived information literacy compared to actual practice in information checking and information literacy training based on metacognition are discussed. Full article

The green economy has become an economic necessity and a cultural discourse due to the rapid global movement towards sustainability. This paper discusses the representation of green economy in Qatar and Malaysia, two countries with different political and cultural background but similar ambitions to attain sustainable development on social media. Through the application of qualitative techniques, namely thematic analysis and critical discourse analysis, the re-search analyzed Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn posts discussing sustainability, renewable energy, and green innovation by using hashtags and stories on the topic. The results indicate that four major themes exist in both settings, and they are sustainability as national pride and identity, corporate–government branding of green efforts, grassroot and citizen involvement, and conflicts around contradictions and skepticism. Green economy in Qatar is constructed as a symbol of prestige and international presence, which is directly connected to the Qatar National Vision 2030, and popularized at the state and corporate levels. Big projects, financial solutions like green bonds, and sustainable infrastructure are mentioned in narratives and criticism is afforded little space. The environmental sustainability is part of cultural representation and collective accountability, grassroots mobilization, youth activism, and defiance of official and corporate language in Malaysia. A dynamic and critical digital discourse is often criticized by the citizens when they face perceived greenwashing. The research adds to the theoretical knowledge of understanding of framing theory that civic space plays a role in the development of sustainability discourses and the importance of critical discourse analysis in studying power relations in environmental discourse. In practice, the study recommends that Qatar should engage its citizens in more than just symbolic branding; Malaysia should enhance transparency and consistency of its policies to curb the skepticism of its people. In general, the paper highlights the fact that social media is not simply a medium of communication but rather a controversial field on which the definitions of sustainability are actively discussed. Full article

This article explores the crucial role of media education and media literacy as effective tools in combating disinformation. In the context of the growing influence of digital media and the increasing spread of fake news, propaganda, and manipulative content, the authors examine the level of awareness among young people regarding key media-related concepts such as media literacy, fake news, propaganda, and disinformation. A sociological survey was conducted among students from two Ukrainian higher education institutions—Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and Lviv Polytechnic National University—involving 277 respondents. The research aimed to evaluate the depth of understanding and preparedness of youth to critically assess media content and recognize signs of manipulative information. The findings indicate a clear trend: media awareness and critical thinking skills improve progressively from secondary school students to university students. This article emphasizes the importance of integrating media literacy into formal education systems as a long-term strategy to build a more informed and resilient society. The authors highlight the need for systematic educational initiatives and practical training in media literacy to empower young audiences in navigating the complex media environment and resisting the impact of disinformation. Full article

In recent years, the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) has garnered increasing scholarly and professional interest, particularly regarding its implementation across various domains, including journalism. As with any emerging technological paradigm, AI must be examined within its contextual framework to elucidate its potential advantages, challenges, and transformative implications. This study, situated within the theoretical lens of Actor–Network Theory, employs a mixed methods approach and, specifically, an explanatory sequential design to explore the integration of AI in contemporary Greek journalism. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire (N = 148) administered to professional journalists in Greece, followed by semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants (N = 7). The findings indicate that journalists perceive AI as a tool capable of enhancing work efficiency, minimizing human error, and facilitating the processing of unstructured data. However, respondents also expressed concerns that AI adoption is unlikely to lead to improved financial compensation and may contribute to job displacement within the sector. Additionally, participants emphasized the necessity of regular professional development initiatives, advocating for the organization of seminars on emerging technologies on a biannual or annual basis. Full article