Information pollution in the post-truth era and the role of digital news editors: The case of Turkey

After the 90s, developments in communication technologies have occurred at a dizzying pace. The emergence of Internet has led to a rapid increase in news consumption on digital platforms. However, the globally rising phenomenon of post-truth poses a threat to the public sphere and also affects journalism, which is one of the most important elements shaping this sphere. Within the scope of this thesis, the transformative effect of network society on journalism and its contribution to the functioning forms of communication in the post-truth era are discussed in the axis of information pollution, and the role of digital news editors in the emergence and dissemination of this problem is investigated. Results of the research show that editors of news websites play a direct role in the process of information pollution through problematic professional practices they follow. It is also observed that the structural problems of the internet media play an indirect role in the process of the formation of information pollution created by digital news editors. All of the situations, in which digital news editors play a role in the creation of information pollution, are found to be more or less related to the advertising-based income model. Keywords: Network Society, Post-Truth Era, Information Pollution, Gatekeeper.