Fake news and the political economy of the media in Ghana : the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

This study investigates fake news and the political economy of the media in Ghana in the interplay of convergence of technology in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. It adopts the exploratory sequential mixed-method approach that is anchored on the critical realism philosophical foundations. This ensured that triangulated data were collected using in-depth interviews and questionnaire in obtaining empirical data. With a qualitative sample of five news editors and a sample of 230 journalists for the quantitative, the mixed study had a total sample size of 235 journalists, all based in the Greater Accra region, the capital city of Ghana. The study which makes significant contributions to existing literature on fake news and political economy of the media, exposes a number of intriguing issues on the subject and could contribute in curbing the phenomenon of fake news in the mainstream and social media sphere. Findings confirm the hypothesis that economic and political reasons are responsible for the production and dissemination of fake news in the country. This is aided by the fourth industrial revolution technologies making fabricated content to easily disseminate. The study discovered that fake news spread exponentially during the 2020 elections and at the peak of Covid-19 in Ghana. This is done in blatant disregard to laid down ethical procedures in journalism and existing laws that frown on fake news in the country. The study acknowledges the critical role ethical journalism plays as a self-regulatory mechanism in checking excessive dissemination of fake news amidst policy constraints in fighting the technological weaponisation, with its concomitant effects on the country’s fragile democracy. Respondents expressed frustration as journalists who want to remain relevant as they battle untrustworthy information spread in social and mainstream media. The study suggests the need for Government to balance the need of legislating fake news and the rights of people to freely express themselves. It also calls on the government to take rightful decisions at mitigating the increasing threats of fake news camouflaged in propaganda spins.