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IJC report: Facebook intensely used by some media outlets around the presidential elections

23 October 2020
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La CJI
Media outlets are making extensive use of the social network Facebook in their coverage of the campaign for the presidential elections of November 1, 2020, according to a study by the Independent Journalism Center, which analyzed the official pages of 5 media outlets between September 21 and 27. Two of them massively favored the candidate Igor Dodon and the Party of Socialists in their posts. On the other hand, the pages of several journalists employed by these outlets show that media representatives do not have an intense public activity on social networks around the elections. 
 
In its second edition, after a pilot study launched in the spring of this year, the current research analyzed the posts of 5 media outlets and 15 journalists, published between September 21 and 27. A total of 1,856 posts from the Facebook pages of media outlets pre-selected for monitoring were collected and coded. Of these, 652 posts (35%) referred to the subject of elections and the election campaign. 

The largest volume of election-related posts was published during the monitoring period by the television stations Primul în Moldova and NTV Moldova, both affiliated with the Party of Socialists (PSRM). They represent 60% of the total number of posts on the Facebook pages of the two media outlets. The analysis showed that the relevant posts presented in a positive light and favored Igor Dodon, an independent candidate supported by PSRM, referring also to his undeniable chances of winning the presidential elections. Primul în Moldova and NTV seriously violated the general provisions of the Journalist’s Code of Ethics and, in particular, Article 1.6, engaging in partisanship and political propaganda not only for Igor Dodon, but also for PSRM representatives, thus launching a campaign to support the Socialists in possible elections of any other kind. 

At the same time, the news posts of NTV Moldova differed very little from those of Primul în Moldova, creating the impression that they were the product of close coordination and collaboration between the editorial teams of the two televisions. Moreover, the titles of the posts on the Facebook pages of both TV stations were strikingly similar.  

Unimedia.info and Jurnal TV had a similar rate of posts related to elections and candidates, which did not exceed 25% of the total volume of content published on Facebook. These outlets, unlike Primul în Moldova and NTV, did not commit significant ethical violations. Publika.md had the smallest number of posts about the elections, as well as the most neutral presentation of the subject of the presidential election campaign. For the most part, this outlet showed a lack of interest in the electoral process, which did not seem to be a priority.  

Speaking of the behavior of journalists on Facebook, Jurnal TV is the only outlet whose representatives use the social network as a forum for discussing and expressing opinions about politics, geopolitics, society and, during the monitoring period, elections. Only one journalist from NTV Moldova can be compared, in terms of the dynamics of posts, with those from Jurnal TV. Otherwise, we can say that media representatives did not have an intense public activity on social networks before the elections.  

The study also reveals that opinion polls are frequently used to increase trust in a candidate, and unilateral interpretation of their results and amplification of their messages on social networks can be a factor in manipulating public opinion before the elections. 

The study recommends journalists and media outlets to respect ethical norms in their coverage of elections, including on social networks, and civil society organizations to reconceptualize the status of social networks in the Journalist’s Code of Ethics, taking into account the opportunities and dangers of the online environment. Attention must also be paid to the development of critical thinking in consumers of information on social networks, in order to help them recognize manipulation and disinformation, including trolling. 

This report has been produced as part of the “Monitoring Social Networks in Elections” project, implemented by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and funded by the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings, and conclusions set forth are the responsibility of the IJC and do not necessarily reflect the vision of the United States Department of State.