Finding information is not difficult; assessing its reliability is
The amount of information in the world is enormous: you can try to imagine the amount of information moving on the Internet, for example, with the help of different “all this happens in a minute” visualisations. So, finding information is not a problem. The difficulty lies in assessing its reliability.
A fact alone is nothing: its interpretation is always influenced by the context
Some information consists of facts. These should be distinguished from opinions that are created based on partly more, partly fewer facts. Misinformation is false information that is unintentionally or accidentally spreading, while disinformation refers to the intentional production and dissemination of false information. Spreaders of disinformation have different motives: political, economic, ideological – even simply trolling and sowing confusion.
The basis of information literacy is the ability to assess context. A fact alone is nothing: its interpretation is always influenced by the content and time-related context in which it is used. In fact, important questions when evaluating information include:
- Who produced the information? If this is not easy to find out, why not?
- Why is the information being shared right now?
- How does the selected context affect how I interpret the meaning and value of information? How does the chosen connection affect me emotionally?
- What does the information look like as part of my other information? Is there other information available?
Algorithms and biases affect our information
The extent to which information has been disseminated cannot be used to determine its reliability. If nothing else, algorithms take care of this. An algorithm’s functioning is based on machine learning. The enormous amount of information and algorithms combined lead to different people seeing a different, small part of the network’s data mass. The logic of the algorithms also takes into account people’s reactions to information: strong emotional reactions make us share, like or comment on content.
Information literacy also means being able to take a critical approach to one’s own knowledge and views. Research has shown that we prefer to believe in information that fits into our world view. This makes us all vulnerable to different cognitive biases.
Journalism is a value-based method of producing reliable information
Journalism is a method of producing information used by the news media with the aim of producing verified information in which facts are put into context. Algorithms work exactly the opposite way: they can narrow our perspective by providing us with information based on information we have previously used.
Journalism is an ism, which means that it has its values. Its values are to defend democracy and freedom of expression and to strive to give a voice also to those whose voice would otherwise not be heard in society. We are not ready for this in Finland either. The prevailing structures of power are easily repeated in the media: those with power come to the fore: politicians and celebrities, men more often than women, the indigenous population more often than immigrants. Representations of minorities, meaning how they become represented, remain stereotyped.
When making journalistic judgements, the aim should always be to be fair and to describe reality as truthfully as possible. A journalist gathers information from several different sources and compares it, listens to the different parties, and tries to distinguish facts from opinions. However, this does not mean that every single story could cover all perspectives. If a particular issue has already been discussed in the media from one perspective, another approach will probably be chosen for the next article on the same topic. Diversitycomes from the whole.
Journalism as a method is based on compliance with the Journalist’s Guidelines
All journalistic content production involves a series of choices, such as topic, perspective, sources and ways of handling. The selections are made using journalistic judgement and good journalistic practice. Good journalistic practices have been compiled into the Journalist’s Guidelines. They are based on independence: the editorial team makes its own choices, regardless of external motives. Good journalistic practice also includes transparently correcting any mistakes made by the editorial team.
According to the Journalist’s Guidelines, the journalist is primarily responsible to the audience. Therefore, the consideration is also made from the perspective of the audience. It is not enough for the journalist to be interested in the subject – they must believe that the subject serves the target audience of their media. Different media place different emphasis on different news criteria. Up-to-date information is more important to a news agency than to a magazine. A local newspaper is interested in local issues, while a national TV channel is interested in news topics affecting all Finns. A media for cycling enthusiasts wonders whether the topic is relevant to cyclists.
In Finland, good journalistic practice is supervised by the industry’s self-regulatory body, the Council for Mass Media (CMM). Anyone can file a complaint for violations of the Journalist’s Guidelines. The Council for Mass Media processes complaints and issues adverse decisions on infringements, which must be published by the infringing media. The CMM can also discuss matters it considers important on its own initiative.