How Can Journalists Strengthen Their Fight Against Misinformation in a Changing Media Landscape?

This paper reflects on challenges and opportunities for journalistic practices in the fight against misinformation in light of recent changes in the online media landscape. On the one hand, recent innovations in technology and social media facilitate a rapid spread of disinformation placing increased pressure on journalists to fight falsehoods and (re)build trust in reliable information. On the other hand, journalists might be positively affected by the EU’s recent introduction of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to regulate online platforms and facilitate the fight against mis- and disinformation. We focus on fact-checking because it is among the most powerful journalistic tools against misinformation and a practice that is directly affected by the DSA. We discuss five concrete challenges and provide evidencebased suggestions backed by practice examples that may be applied by journalists who seek to advance the efficacy of their fact-checking efforts on social media.