The term crisis of journalism is widely discussed nowadays. This paper examines whether journalism is in crisis, or whether it is a development caused by changes in the digital world. It also examines possible causes of this crisis and transformation in the digital world. One of the main causes of this is a perceived loss of credibility of the information given to the public. Therefore, there is a deeper interpretation of what trust and trustworthiness is and what can dis/trust cause in the society. In the context of the changes which journalism faces today, it describes the transformation of the role of the audience to active self-editor and outlines how the audience must orientate in the news itself. Otherwise, the media focused on earnings will continue to thrive on sensationalism and moral panics that will negatively effect social reality. In the empirical part this paper deals with the case of Břeclav in 2012, which is an exemplary example of moral panic with consequences.

The diploma thesis "Fake News: Methods of assessing and verifying fake news by their recipients" is focused on the ways of evaluating media content by their recipients and the factors that affect the assessment process in the context of fake news phenomenon. The purpose of the thesis is to find out how people perceive the content they read; what affects their perception; and what are the criteria that govern their assessment. The theoretical part first defines the concept of fake (false) news, among other things in connection with the overuse of the term fake news. In the next chapters, the current role of the media and the issue of credibility and trust in the media are approached. The conclusion of the theoretical part discusses the social and psychological assumptions that affect the perception and actions of recipients. The second part presents the research background of this thesis. The research is based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative inquiry. The qualitative approach is focused on the description of the processes and criteria used by the recipients in assessing and verifying the news. Data collection is therefore realized through eight semi-structured interviews, which are analysed by the open coding method. The quantitative research part is based on hypotheses about the...

Particulièrement popularisé pendant la campagne électorale américaine de 2016, le concept de fake news ou fausses nouvelles n’est pas nouveau, mais a évolué au cours de la dernière décennie, en concordance avec la numérisation des médias et l’arrivée des plateformes de réseaux sociaux. La notion de fausses nouvelles peut être considérée comme polysémique, alors qu’il n’y a pas de réel consensus quant à sa définition, autant chez les chercheurs.euses que pour le grand public. Pour certains.es, il peut s’agir de faux contenu prenant l’apparence d’une « vraie » nouvelle, et pour d’autres, il serait plutôt question de « mauvais » journalisme. Au Québec, le phénomène est bel et bien présent et inquiète experts.es et journalistes, mais nous en savons encore très peu sur les perceptions des Québécois.es de l’enjeu. À l’aide de l’apport des folk theories ou théories populaires, ce mémoire s’est intéressé aux perceptions de douze Québécois.es d’opinions diversifiées sur la question des fausses nouvelles et de l’écosystème médiatique. À travers trois groupes de discussions, les participants.es ont démontré ne pas avoir de définition à proprement dit du concept, mais repèrent plutôt les fausses nouvelles à l’aide de différents indices ou caractéristiques particulières. Ils.elles ont également fait part de certaines critiques qu’ils.elles entretiennent à l’égard des médias d’information au Québec, démontrant un scepticisme grandissant quant à la qualité et à la véracité du contenu de l’information. Certains.es ont également dit avoir de la difficulté à établir une distinction claire entre les « vraies » des « fausses » nouvelles. Finalement, une majorité d’entre eux.elles sont d’avis que les fausses nouvelles circuleraient non seulement dans les réseaux sociaux, mais également dans les médias d’information. / Particularly popularized during the 2016 American election campaign, the concept of fake news is not new, but has evolved over the last decade, in line with the digitization of media and the arrival of social networking platforms. The notion of fake news can be considered as polysemous, while there is no real consensus as to its definition, both among researchers and the general public. For some, it can be a question of false content taking on the appearance of “real” news, and for others, it is more a question of “bad” journalism. In Quebec, the phenomenon is well and truly present and worries experts and journalists, but we still know very little about Quebecers’ perceptions of the issue. Using folk theories, this paper explored the perceptions of twelve Quebecers with diverse opinions on the issue of fake news and the media ecosystem. Through three focus groups, the participants demonstrated that they do not have a definition of the concept, but rather identify fake news through various cues or specific characteristics. They also shared some of their criticisms of the news media in Quebec, demonstrating a growing skepticism about the quality and veracity of news content. Some also said they have difficulty making a clear distinction between “real” and “fake” news. Finally, a majority felt that fake news was circulating not only on social networks, but also in the news media.