The directors of the leading print media met at the Unibe university to discuss the implications of social media and the widespread circulation of fake news and speculations that people accept as valid. The event was organized by the Unibe and the board of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel)
The leading media directors acknowledge the reach social media has had in the Dominican population, where most people are not aware the social platform programs speculate and create attention-grabbing stories to gain views.
Guido Gómez, president of the Indotel board, explained the 2-day journalism at the university sought to gather national and international experts to give their opinions on the role of journalism and democracy and social media Internet platforms. He argued that the disinformation and fake news circulating on social media is a challenge for the local press and ethics in informing should prevail now more than ever before.
The chief editors of El Nuevo Diario (Persio Maldonado), El Dia (Jose Monegro) and Listin Diario (Miguel Franjul) agreed to the distortions to freedom of expression made easy by everyone’s access to social media.
“There has been a misunderstanding, blurring the lines between press and social media as if they were one and the same,” explained Franjul of Listin Diario. “We journalists have yet to shake off the stigma that has been building and attempting to devalue the media and its core principle: the practice of high-quality journalism rooted in truth.”
Acknowledging the reality that this phenomenon has impacted the quality and credibility of national journalism in the eyes of the public, Franjul discussed the role of misinformation in the context of democracy and local journalism.
Monegro of El Dia added that fake news has always posed a threat to quality journalism, with the significant difference being that today, the Internet has enabled these falsehoods to reach a wider audience and generate more engagement.
Local traditional media and responsible social platforms have a hard time dealing with what is today known as SNARF that creates news stories that play to the imagination of their audience. SNARF refers to content that thrives on Stales, Novelty, Anger, Retention, and Fear, as coined by BuzzFeed in their Anti-SNARF Manifesto. This content is seen as algorithm-driven and designed to maximize engagement, potentially at the expense of user well-being and genuine connection.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
19 March 2025