Leading Asian journalists and academics have called on media practitioners to strengthen their roles as gatekeepers and watchdogs, by making greater efforts in to counter fake news and disinformation, which have fomented social conflicts and political polarisation.
Speaking at the recent Global News Forum of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), hosted by the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) in Bangkok, they also voiced support for artificial intelligence to be responsibly harnessed to help with the production and distribution of content.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, former prime minister of Thailand, said in his keynote speech, entitled “Truth, Courage and the Importance of Resisting Political Dogma”, that journalists today face more nuanced forms of interference than in the past, including business influences, dogma and the pervasive spread of misinformation on digital platforms.
“One form of interference is through business influence. The challenge that you now face in trying to do your job while having to watch the bottom line,” he said.
Distinguishing between professional journalism and unverified online content becomes vital. “What is it that makes you a professional journalist, rather than someone who just posts or uploads anything onto the Internet or someone who simply shares stories that they gather?”
If one could answer the question and distinguish themselves, that is what makes them a professional journalist, he said. Technologies came along and suddenly everybody in the world has access to information and the ability to disseminate information.
Therefore, he said, there is a need for journalists to reaffirm their commitment to truth by actively fact-checking and seeking out hidden truths, especially those suppressed by authorities or powerful interests.
“Everybody is bombarded with information, but it is simply your job to be that filter, to make sure that what gets out to the consumers, to the public, is actually truth,” he said.
Central to this mission is resisting various forms of dogma, be they political, economic or narrative-driven, he said, adding “The importance of resisting these kinds of dogma is what makes you a professional journalist, balanced and impartial.”
Journalists must strive to be balanced and impartial, clearly distinguishing between reported facts and personal opinion.
This impartiality is increasingly challenged in a polarised world, where neutrality often comes at the cost of audience and market support.
“The most courage needed now is when you actually call out your own side,” the speaker stressed, acknowledging the difficulty of such actions, but underscoring their necessity for maintaining journalistic integrity and fostering a healthy and democratic society.
Abhisit called for a renewed commitment to the principles of truth, courage and resistance to dogma, asserting that these values are important, not only for the future of journalism but also for the preservation of democracy and peace in the world.
“It is time to renew and reinvigorate the professionalism of journalism. Truth, courage and the importance of resisting dogma is the way forward and the future of news,” he opined.
Meanwhile, reflecting on the current Thai media situation, Kavi Chongkittavorn, a regional affairs expert and a veteran journalist, said Thai journalists in general still need to improve their professionalism.
Nesryn Bouziane, Fuadi Pitsuwan, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Surachanee Hammerli Sriyai, and Thepchai Yong
“One of the biggest problems is that the level of professionalism of Thai media is short of the level of freedom they have,” he said.
Speaking as a panellist of “Truth, Trust, and Democracy” at the same forum, Kavi called for more training and knowledge acquisition for Thai media practitioners “so that they can play a better role in fact-checking and calling out fake news and disinformation.”
“They need to do better professionally, to match the freedom they have,” he said.
Pirongrong Ramasoota, a member of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), has called for the government and civil society to join hands in helping trustworthy news agencies negotiate for greater prominence on digital platforms and mobile applications.
“In the age of social media, disinformation and click-bait seem to be dominating the news ecosystem. Since platform economics ride on algorithm driven by data, quality of news and information accuracy matter less than users’ engagement and clicks,” she said.
Yet with the growing trend of “platformisation”, news agencies have no choice but to migrate online and be dictated to by the algorithms, she added.
Speaking as a panellist on “The Social Media Tango – The Changing Relationship Between News Organisations and Social Media Companies”, she highlighted the unfair practices of social media platforms.
“Contrary to Europe and other Asian countries, Thailand appears to be getting its news primarily from social media, especially third-party platforms. Of course, attribution to the news agency is not always so prominent, particularly on global platforms with high bargaining power. This is of course unfair and reflects a not-so-transparent practice,” she added.
Since algorithmic relevance is not a regulatory issue, news agencies must collaborate with the public sector and civil society to ensure more prominence, especially on digital platforms, mobile apps and connected TVs.
In Europe and Canada, there have been efforts by government regulators, as well as political and civic actors, to push for labelling and clear branding of trustworthy public service media on YouTube.
Negotiations are ongoing with Samsung for a prominent operator profile for public service broadcasters on their connected TV. In addition, there are endeavours to pass regulations to get legacy public service broadcasting pre-installed in mobile apps.
Similar measures are needed in Thailand, to help rebuild trust in the news ecosystem, Pirongrong said, adding that the NBTC is now working on a social credit model, whereby each licensed broadcaster would be rated on their content quality (starting with news) to be eligible for a certification of trustworthiness.
This will be a basis for negotiating the prominence of these news sources on online platforms in the future, she added.
Kaori Iida, Head of the Digital News Division of NHK, in her presentation “The Rise of Impression Zombies,” said that impression zombies are accounts that swarm around posts which are going viral by copying and stealing the message and/or reposting meaningless words to gain impressions and monetise social media.
Edson C. Tandoc, Kaori IIda, Kanokporn Prasitphon, Jirawat Tangpanitanon, Trevor C. Lee
“We need to remain a trustworthy news organisation to stay relevant and to survive another 100 years. We cannot allow the zombies to roam around,” she said.
In the session “Generative AI – The New Paradigm,” Professor Edson C. Tandoc of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, talked about some of his findings on generative AI in Singaporean newsrooms.
21.8% of 170 respondents said their organisations use generative AI, while 64.7% said they are not using it yet, but are open to its adoption.
Jirawat Tangpanithanont, CEO and Co-founder of Quantum Technology Foundation (Thailand), suggested that, while newsrooms are increasingly adopting generative AI, news organisations can try to train their own generative AI too.
“I think, from the media point of view, they should start with non-technical questions. Basically, who exactly they are and how are they different from other media, then figure out how to put that uniqueness into generative AI, so that generative AI can think like they do.”
“Another important area that the media should be working on is an auditor AI. You should have an independent AI model that does the audit for your generative AI. For example, if it starts to say something that is not according to the company values, then the system should flag it,” he noted.
Mouhssine Enaimi, ‘Off The Grid’ co-founder and executive producer, said “People will forget what they learn, but they will never forget what they feel.”
Showcase: Investigative journalism – TRT’s Emmy-winning program ”Ukraine Wartime Diaries’’
“Of course, content is king and mobile phone videos with strong content will perform very well, but I think we can also make an effort, as filmmakers, executive producers and directors, to focus on the aesthetics. Obviously, TV is a visual art… so the human factor is important,” he concluded.
The 2024 Asia Vision ‘Best News Story’ award winner is KBS – South Korea for the television report titled ‘Medical professors leave work’. The award was presented by Nithee Seeprae, deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, which sponsored the event.
In his dinner opening speech, Nithee stresses the importance of the news industry that their “dedication to journalism and storytelling is invaluable to the global community”.
He also adds that journalists have “the unique power to shape the perception and influence decisions” to help revitalise the Thai tourism industry.
by Clare Patchimanon//Marisa Chimprabha
