Overview
- Analyses 176 articles from significant UK fact-checkers in order to explain the current position of fact-checking within political argumentation
- Illustrates how fact-checking should not be limited to assessing empirical facts, but should be utilised in evaluating wider political claims
- Emphasises the significance of fact-checking journalism in present day contexts of post-truth politics and fake news
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About this book
This timely book examines the role of fact-checking journalism within political policy debates, and its potential contribution to public engagement. Understanding facts not to operate in a political vacuum, the book argues for a wide remit for fact-checking journalism beyond empirically-checkable facts, to include the causal relationships and predictions that form part of wider political arguments and are central to electoral pledges. Whilst these statements cannot be proven or disproven, fact-checking can, and sometimes does, ask pertinent critical questions about the premises of those claims and arguments. The analysis centres on the three dedicated national British fact-checkers during the UK’s 2017 snap general election, including their activity and engagement on Twitter. The book also makes a close political discourse and argumentation analysis of three key issue debates in flagship reporting from Channel 4 News and the BBC.
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Keywords
Table of contents (5 chapters)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Jen Birks is Assistant Professor in Culture, Film and Media at the University of Nottingham, UK, with an interest in media practices that facilitate public political engagement. She writes on the role of expert, witness and activist publics in news reporting and campaigning, and is co-convener of the Media and Politics Group of the Political Studies Association.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Fact-Checking Journalism and Political Argumentation
Book Subtitle: A British Perspective
Authors: Jen Birks
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30573-4
Publisher: Palgrave Pivot Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-30572-7Published: 26 November 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-30573-4Published: 15 November 2019
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 111
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations
Topics: Journalism, Media and Communication, Journalism, Political Communication