Unveiling the Tactics: Moroccan Journalists' Approach to News Reporting and Data Authentication during Breaking News

Abstract

Within this rapidly evolving media environment, social media has emerged as
a central ecosystem for navigating news and information. Social media
platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube hold an integral part of the
global information market, revolutionising various aspects of society, including
journalism. This study strives to dissect the challenges and opportunities that
social media offers journalists, particularly in information-gathering, fact-
checking, and content verification. With a focus on Moroccan journalists, the
specific aim of this study is to explore the strategies employed by Moroccan
journalists for content gathering and verification. Drawing on previous studies
examining the use of online sources in news gathering and reporting, this
study is based on a qualitative data collection procedure, focusing primarily on
interviews with 21 Moroccan journalists to elicit their perceptions of and
attitudes toward news, information gathering, and online information
verification. This study reveals that Moroccan journalists express positive
attitudes when it comes to using social media but they assert the importance
of critical media skills when scrutinizing the reliability of data on social media.
The participants acknowledge the diversity and plurality of perspectives,
voices, and narratives that social media provides, but they also recognize the
potential risk social media raises when it comes to manipulation and spreading
misinformation.
Key Words: disinformation; information; journalism; Morocco;
newsgathering; social media.