The credibility of the news media is decreasing, but some scholars argue that online open-source investigation has great potential to build trust between journalism and citizens (Reese & Chen,
2022). In 2017, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant based solely on video evidence from social media. The report on gas attacks in Syria by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons relies heavily on images from Google Earth. The Netherlands-based organization Bellingcat came to fame with its investigation of the downing of a Malaysian Airlines flight in 2014.
The New York Times investigates court documents, text messages, and hundreds of videos shows how the rioters coordinated to instigate multiple breaches of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,2021. A more detailed understanding of that event was aided by not only professional news media, but also documented by the participants themselves via social media, and left a lot of incriminating information available online for news media to process, with help of experts, data transparency activists, and citizens.
- (10%) Please provide a clear definition of online open-source investigation.
- (15%) Is it an alternative practice (i.e., citizen journalism) to professional news media authority? Or is it an emerging network for the hybrid institution of journalism? Please give an example and explain why?