Evaluating Digital Sources in Journalism

Ståle Grut is a Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oslo’s Department of Media and Communication. He spent close to a decade at the Norwegian public broadcasting's R&D lab, NRKbeta, as a strategic advisor and journalist covering new media. Grut has also served as an advisor at the Tinius Trust, controlling the largest shareholding of Schibsted Media Group, and as a board member of the Norwegian Online News Association.

• Preface IntroductionChapter 1: Digital Sources: A critical approacho Digital source criticism in four simple stepso The epistemic foundation of source criticism o Source criticism for journalistso Traditional source criticism: a waste of time o The necessity of a digital source criticismo The effectiveness of network reading o Understanding the Internet’s signals o Questions for reflection and exercisesChapter 2: Digital manipulation and disinformationo Introductiono Recognise suspicious user accountso Motivations for manipulation o Journalists as targetso The value of manipulating a journalist§ Google bombing§ No follow: maintaining critical distance in the digital domaino Wikipedia – for journalists§ Contributing to Wikipedia as a journalist§ Wikidatao Internet outrage and social media rowso Undercover trolls: when the media takes the baito A solution in sight o Unearthing digital networks o Media manipulation§ Image and video manipulation§ Audio manipulationo Questions for reflection and exercisesChapter 3: Verifying informationo Introductiono The layers of journalismo Figures and statistics in briefo User-generated content o The verification process o Verification and mental healtho Verification resourceso Questions for reflection and exercisesChapter 4: Journalism, Online Open-Source Investigations and OSINTo Introductiono Digging through open digital sources o From military to civil useo Complex digital investigative journalism storieso Sleuthing, or digging on your owno The process of digital investigative journalismo Debunking information posted by the President of Brazil o Creative methods for open-source investigationso Three cases of investigative reporting in which open sources played a major roleo Dramatically effective methodso Questions for reflection and exercisesGlossaryIndex