Perceptions of the role of traditional and social media in communicating corruption

ABSTRACT

Traditional and social media are widely recognised for the role they play in communicating corruption, while even influencing the way in which corruption is perceived. Knowing that not all corruption is perceived the same, due to its various forms and manifestations, the authors flip the question and explore how the perceived severity of corruption influences people’s views on the role that traditional and social media play in communicating it within the context of sport. The authors collected data from 18 focus groups, involving a total of 99 participants in the UK, thereby uncovering the wide spectrum of perceived roles that traditional and social media play in communicating corruption in sport, ranging from informative to misleading, and from democratic tools that enhance self-reflection to broadcasters of ‘fake news’ respectively. What is also highlighted in the study is the reverse analogy observed between the perceived severity of corruption and people’s positive predisposition towards both traditional and social media. Apart from expanding the understanding of the perceived role of traditional and social media in communicating corruption, this study underlines that the volatility of perceptions towards the media can impact people’s future interest in and engagement with traditional and social media.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Perceptions of corruption influence views on media’s role in communicating it.

• A wide spectrum of perceptions of the role of the media is uncovered.

• Perceptions on traditional media diverge from informative to misleading.

• Views on social media vary from democratic to fake news broadcasters.

KEYWORDS:

• Perceptions of corruption
• Perceived severity of corruption
• Corruption communication
• Sport corruption
• Sport integrity
• Focus groups

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge financial support from the British Academy: Grant number SG171050. Although dissemination is encouraged by the funder they played no part in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.