Fake news as a two-dimensional phenomenon: a framework and research agenda
- Author(s)
- Jana Laura Egelhofer, Sophie Lecheler
- Abstract
Based on an extensive literature review, we suggest that ‘fake news’ alludes to two dimensions of political communication: the fake news genre (i.e. the deliberate creation of pseudojournalistic disinformation) and the fake news label (i.e. the instrumentalization of the term to delegitimize news media). While public worries about the use of the label by politicians are increasing, scholarly interest is heavily focused on the genre aspect of fake news. We connect the existing literature on fake news to related concepts from political communication and journalism research, present a theoretical framework to study fake news, and formulate a research agenda. Thus, we bring clarity to the discourse about fake news and suggest shifting scholarly attention to the neglected fake news label.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Communication
- Journal
- Annals of the International Communication Association
- Volume
- 43
- Pages
- 97-116
- No. of pages
- 20
- ISSN
- 2380-8985
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2019.1602782
- Publication date
- 04-2019
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 508007 Communication science, 508014 Journalism
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/fake-news-as-a-twodimensional-phenomenon-a-framework-and-research-agenda(4b1614bb-e9bb-4ad1-bc1c-5b4311b72d29).html