Levels of Iraqi News Agencies’ Pages’ Adherence to Professional Journalistic Standards on Social Media Platforms – A Survey Study

Abstract

This research aims to measure the extent to which Iraqi news agency pages on social media platforms adhere to standards of accuracy and verification before publication (verifying news, attribution, and documenting information). It also seeks to determine the degree to which these pages adhere to the standard of objectivity and the separation of news from opinion when publishing content. Furthermore, it evaluates the extent to which these pages adhere to the standard of balance (presenting multiple viewpoints and avoiding bias). The study employed a comprehensive survey methodology, encompassing all professional staff members of ten accredited Iraqi news agencies who are directly involved in the production, review, or publication of content on these agencies' social media pages. The total number of participants was 260. This was achieved using an official list of employees at the aforementioned news agencies and by reaching them through paper and electronic questionnaires. A comprehensive survey of all journalistic content published on the Iraqi news agency pages was conducted, and the survey methodology, including both analytical and field research, was employed to collect systematic and comprehensive data on the practices of the news agency websites included in the research sample.

One of the most prominent findings of the research is:

1- News verification in the digital environment depends more on individual effort than institutional systems, and the respondents practice verification using traditional methods with limited effectiveness in the face of the flood of information flowing through networks.

2- All the agencies studied primarily relied on presenting a single point of view in displaying content and reporting events and issues, adopting one perspective without engaging with multiple viewpoints.