Liberating the Headlines: How Media Can Cover Aspiring Authoritarians without Enabling Them
Disingenuous leaders have used the news media to push false or misleading narratives by leveraging the thousands of headlines that run during a news cycle. Too often, in order to maintain the appearance of balance, editors have yielded their own framing power, often giving legitimacy to those who are subverting democracy.
"When it comes to rhetorical claims or lies promoted by bad actors, newsrooms would do well to remember that leaders can drive disinformation and manipulate discourse. One source’s claims need not be automatically and uncritically accorded overarching framing power in news cycles, unless they have passed checks on authenticity and validity."
Subramaniam Vincent, director, journalism and media ethics, published by the Kettering Foundation.