Social Media Ethical Issues in Journalism

The digital media landscape has raised new ethical dilemmas for the journalism profession, including the role of journalists on social media.

In the age of social media, misinformation can spread like wildfire, and in many instances, journalists have fallen under the influence of reporting inaccurate information from social media. The spread of misinformation is one of the reasons why critics often accuse mass media coverage as “fake news.” Instead of taking an objective approach to reporting an assessing the facts at hand, critics accuse reporters of taking on an approach to sensationalize the emotional and confrontational aspects of a story, and intentionally push their position and opinions on readers.

Additionally, journalistic ethics and values are being put to the test as reporters are active on social media for professional and personal purposes. News organizations place a lot of pressure on journalists to be very active on social media to increase the number of page views and clicks they receive. However, following closely behind is the threat of being emotionally charged or biased, posing a question on the role of journalists on social media. Sharing emotions and opinions on social media can call into question a journalist’s ability to be fair and balanced in her or his reporting. It also damages the news outlet’s reputation as being an unbiased source of news.

Thank you to the following for your participation in this video: Garry Gilbert, director of journalism at Oakland University; John D. Stoll, business columnist for The Wall Street Journal; and Richard Truett, technology and engineering reporter for Automotive News.

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