Italian Journalism in the Age of Misinformation: Perspectives and Practices

In recent years, misinformation has become a highly debated topic in Western societies. While it remains open to discussion whether it represents a new issue or rather a heightened awareness of an existing one, it is indisputable that contemporary democratic competition and pluralism face the challenge of false content and fake news. Existing literature has frequently focused on the vehicle of these contents, primarily social media platforms, the legislative framework, as evidenced by recent European regulations, and the normative aspects of the issue, such as debates on changes in the public sphere. However, these analyses often omit a thorough empirical examination of the phenomenon within the domain of journalism. How does traditional journalism relate to the challenges posed by post-truth? This paper delves into the issue of misinformation within the field of journalism, with an empirical focus on the Italian context. It does so through ten semi-structured interviews with professional journalists from prominent Italian newspapers. By empirically exploring the post-truth challenge from this less frequently examined angle of analysis, this study sheds new light on how misinformation affects Italian journalists, complicating their work while also creating opportunities for high-quality information. Additionally, it provides insights on effective countermeasures that could be adopted within the domain of journalism.