Press Accountability Research

TREC Affiliate member Wajeeda Yusuf has written a report on online accountability.

“After the announcement that some areas in Leicester and Leicestershire would be the first to go into a local lockdown the media spotlight was firmly on Leicester for that week and weeks to come. There have been rumours and relentless racial bias that has been plastered across front pages of newspapers, homepages of online news websites, which has resulted in opening the floodgates for many racist comments across comment sections in both local and national press. This research is a small snapshot of the impact that the press can have on communities including examples of bias which led to online attacks on groups of people and also add fuel to racist, xenophobic and bigoted views that cause distress to communities in Leicester and across the UK. We understand and respect the need for freedom of press and therefore propose a solution that is more pragmatic which enables clear transparency and a view to encourage ethical digital journalism in order to understand the impact of what news agencies publish.”