ABSTRACT
PurposeAnalyse the presence of hate speech in society, placing special emphasis on social media. In this sense, the authors strive to build a formula to moderate this type of content, in which platforms and public institutions cooperate, from the fields of corporate social responsibility and public diplomacy, respectively.Design/methodology/approachTo this aim, it is important to focus efforts on the creation of counter-narratives;the establishment of content moderation guidelines, which are not necessarily imposed by unilateral legislation;the promotion of suitable scenarios for the involvement of civil society;transparency on the part of social media companies;and supranational cooperation that is as transnational as possible. To exemplify the implementation of initiatives against hate speech, two cases are analysed that are paradigmatic for assuming two effective approaches to the formula indicated by the authors.FindingsThe authors analyse, in the case of the European Union, its "Code of conduct to counteract illegal online hate speech”, which included the involvement of different social media companies. And in the case of Canada, the authors discuss the implementation of the bill to include a definition of hate speech and the establishment of specific sanctions for this in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canadian Penal Code.Originality/valueThe case of the European Union was a way of seeking consensus with social media companies without legislation, while the case of Canada involved greater legislative and penalisation. Two ways of seeking the same goal: curbing hate speech.
ABSTRACT
The communication of the Coronavirus crisis in Spain has two unexpected components: the rise of the information on social networks, especially WhatsApp, and the consolidation of TV programs on mystery and esotericism. Both have emerged to “tell the truth” in opposition to official sources and public media. For a country with a long history of treating science and the media as properties of the state, this very radical development has surprised communication scholars.
ABSTRACT
The study of the quality press and the use of sources is relevant to understand the role of journalists in scientific controversies. The objective was to examine media sourcing patterns, using the case of vaccines as a backdrop. Articles were retrieved from the national quality press in Spain. Content analysis was undertaken on the sources and on other variables such as tone, frames and journalistic genre. The software myNews and NVivo were used for data collection and coding, while SPSS and Excel were used for statistical analysis. Findings indicate that sources related to the government, professional associations and scientific companies are the most frequently used, confirming the central role of government institutions as journalistic sources. These were followed by university scientists, scientific journals and clinicians. On the other hand, NGOs and patients groups were included in fewer than 5% of the articles. More than 30% included none or just one source expressing unbalanced perspectives. Frequent use of certain source types, particularly governmental, may indicate state structures of power. The study provides a better understanding of journalistic routines in the coverage of vaccines, including fresh perspectives in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject(s)
Journalism, Medical , Mass Media , Vaccination Refusal/psychology , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections , Humans , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral , SARS-CoV-2 , SpainABSTRACT
The communication of the Coronavirus crisis in Spain has two unexpected components: the rise of the information on social networks, especially WhatsApp, and the consolidation of TV programs on mystery and esotericism. Both have emerged to "tell the truth" in opposition to official sources and public media. For a country with a long history of treating science and the media as properties of the state, this very radical development has surprised communication