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In an interview with the think tank of international relations, Dr. Nasreen Haqit Chalateri, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, explained and explained the impact of the media as one of the components of the modern world and its various dimensions. Interviewer: Mohammad Hossein Vahedi Assal
International Relations Think Tank: In the modern world, the media play a very important role in informing and shaping public opinion. In your opinion, how effective is the influence of the media as one of the components of power in the modern world?
I think it has many effects. But because the form of media has changed a lot in today’s world. This influence of yours can be like a double-edged sword: it both gives strength and weakens strength. Before the internet became widespread, the media was only newspapers and magazines, and naturally it was much easier to control. Governments could control the flow of information very easily, but nowadays there are many news channels and news can be received from different places. In today’s world, if a country can deal with the false information that is constantly published online, this will make it strong. Confronting does not mean censorship or filtering the virtual space. Governments must first provide the basis of public trust in the media under their control. When this trust is established, they can constantly validate false news and let the audience know that such and such news is fake. But all this is necessary to build trust.
I think it has many effects. But because the form of media has changed a lot in today’s world. This influence of yours can be like a double-edged sword: it both gives strength and weakens strength. Before the internet became widespread, the media was only newspapers and magazines, and naturally it was much easier to control. Governments could control the flow of information very easily, but nowadays there are many news channels and news can be received from different places. In today’s world, if a country can deal with the false information that is constantly published online, this will make it strong. Confronting does not mean censorship or filtering the virtual space. Governments must first provide the basis of public trust in the media under their control. When this trust is established, they can constantly validate false news and let the audience know that such and such news is fake. But all this is necessary to build trust.
2. Has the media always been a tool in the hands of governments or has it been a reflection of the voice of the people? What is the main task of the media?
In my opinion, the main task of the media is to convey true news without censorship. In the past, due to the monopoly of news platforms in the hands of those in power, the media was a tool in the hands of those in power, but today, with the existence of multiple news networks on online platforms, this monopoly has been broken to some extent. For this reason, I say that to some extent these online platforms are also managed by the owners of power and wealth, and the possibility of censorship or filtering the voice of the opposition is high.
3. Today’s world is full of news bombardment, or according to former US President Donald Trump, fake news has greatly increased in the media. In your opinion, how can you determine the authenticity of a news story? How to get the right information and news, what is the best tool or platform to get the right news in your opinion?
The interesting thing is that the concern about fake news or fake news became more intense after the 2016 American elections. Since then, many articles and books have been published about the impact of fake news on various aspects of life, such as climate change, elections, and even marketing.
Unfortunately, there is no platform where you can confidently claim that it publishes 100% correct news, because the job of the media is to magnify, minimize or correct reality. I don’t know how familiar you are with the concept of discourse and critical analysis of discourse in the field of linguistics and translation, the media constantly use discourse techniques to correct the original text. The best way to deal with fake news is to raise people’s awareness about such news. Websites that validate news are one of the first steps in raising public awareness. But in the end, an atmosphere should be created where people look critically at any news they see or hear.
Misinformation is fake news that circulates on social media platforms. Usually, this false information is produced intentionally and with a specific purpose. It is now one of the hot topics in political science.
Now there is a discussion about how to fight against these fake news in the society. For example, what we did in our laboratory was that political discussions can correct this misinformation about climate change. Now, what kind of people and age groups, what party orientation and…
In my opinion, this issue is very debatable in Iran and it can be worked out. Especially since we are not very strong in small topics, but we have to start somewhere.
Due to the expansion and increase of texts and news produced by users in online social networks and the fact that these networks gather people with common interests and tastes, rumors and illusions of conspiracy and false information are produced and disseminated in a widespread manner. Various scholars have analyzed the effects of these news on fields such as politics, health, financial markets, etc. One of the most interesting and up-to-date cases is the impact of misinformation on Covid and related policies. In examining the causes of inefficiency and failure of policies related to Covid in Iran, several articles have pointed to misinformation. Finally, in my opinion, fake news and misinformation increase the cost of policy making and policy implementation. For example, if we look at the rumors and misinformation that was published about the Covid vaccine, we will find that most of the public policy was spent on convincing the opponents of the vaccine for vaccination, and this imposed a lot of costs.
4. Why have countries like China and North Korea thought of completely disconnecting their internet from the global internet?
Disconnection with the free world is caused by the inefficiency of governments in the domestic sphere to dictate their failures to the people in the form of achievements. In the case of North Korea, the internal situation is proof of everything. In the case of China, the situation is slightly different. China’s economic development was formed thanks to the abundance of cheap labor and the colonization of labor and based on the expansion of exports. Today, China’s workforce is paid below the global average and works longer hours than the average. If we take a look at China’s recent protests, initially these protests were formed in response to Corona policies, but later other demands were raised. The main problem was that the young workforce was not willing to continue the process of high work and low wages like the previous generation.
Global Internet and comparison of domestic conditions with other parts of the world will increase people’s demands. If a government is not able to answer the demands of the people, these demands will lead to unrest in the long term and will ultimately weaken the power of the countries. That’s why these countries have chosen a simple solution, i.e. cutting off the internet, instead of increasing their ability to respond.
