About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

18 Romanian J. Eur. Aff. 24 (2018)
Fake News or Disinformation 2.0? Some Insights into Romanians' Digital Behaviour

handle is hein.journals/rojaeuf18 and id is 25 raw text is: ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS Fake News or Disinformation 2.0? Some insights into Romanians' Digital Behaviour Alina Birgioanu, Loredana Radul Abstract: This paper focuses on digital behaviour, self-assessment of vulnerabilities to digital disinformation, and patterns of trust as exposed by Romanian citizens. By corroborating the data of the first national public opinion survey on fake news and disinformation (implemented between February and March 2018) with the Special Eurobarometer no. 464 - Fake News and Disinformation Online - implemented in the same time frame (February 2018), we capture the perceptions and attitudes of Romanian citizens over the use of new media and news trustworthiness, and we also compare the Romanians' online behaviour with the average European'. As similar research reveals, digital disinformation affects resilience of citizens in Member States and in the European Union overall, it threatens the democratic political processes and values (European Commission, 2018: 12), the integrity of elections and political processes, and should therefore, be approached as a legitimate public concern. Our paper opens the floor for more dedicated research and applied policies - at both the Member States and EU levels - aimed at mitigating the rising and ever worrying fake news phenomenon. Keywords: disinformation, fake news, online platforms, public trust 1. Introduction. A New Communication Ecosystem The year 2016 will go down in history as the one when the Brexit referendum took place and Donald Trump was elected as President of the United States of America. Notably, right after the Brexit referendum, then-candidate Trump announced (actually tweeted) that he would surely win the elections in what he called Brexit times 10'. The same year, the Oxford Dictionaries' international word was post-truth', describing a situation in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief (hts://en.oxforddictionaries.com). The Munich Security Report 2017, offered as a background document for the Munich Security Conference 2017 was aptly entitled Post- Truth, Post-West, Post-Order?' (https://www.securityconference.de/). One of the characteristics of the contemporary period is the revival of communication in public affairs - be they national, European or global in scope. Reconsidering the role of communication in framing and interpreting events, its stunning capacity to create, circulate 'Alina Birgioanu is Professor, PhD, at the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations, National University for Political Studies and Public Administration. She is also Member of the High-Level Expert Group on Fake News and Digital Disinformation, European Commission. E-mail address: alina.bareaoanuacomunicare.ro Loredana Radu is Associate Professor, PhD, at the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations, National University for Political Studies and Public Administration. E-mail address: loredana.radutcomunicare ro 24 Vol. 18, No. 1, June 2018

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most