How to grow a transnational field

A network analysis of the global fact-checking movement

Bibliographic Data

ID6443375
AuthorsLaurens Lauer (0000-0001-9550-812X, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany, corresponding author), Lucas Graves (0000-0002-2980-7145, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Year2024
Volume27
Issue6
Pages3505-3523
Publication date2024-02-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14614448241227856
OpenAlexW4391843962
LanguageEN
Citations received23
References cited43

The worldwide fact-checking movement has grown rapidly over the last decade and achieved remarkable prominence. This study investigates that global movement as a case of deliberate institution-building to consolidate a new transnational field. We use a comprehensive network analysis of the first eight years of the annual Global Fact conference to ask how fact-checkers grew their young field, examining the roles of leading practitioners as well as “meta-level” organizations like the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). We identify an elite tier shaping the development of the field, whose membership aligns with other markers of leadership. We show how these organizations play either internally or externally directed brokerage roles, reflecting the characteristic tension in emerging fields between maintaining community bonds and cultivating external stakeholders. And we highlight the pivotal role of the IFCN—while showing that certain fact-checking groups act like meta-level organizations, with resources dedicated to field-building and governance

Aesthetics · Field (mathematics · Internet privacy · Media studies · Movement (music · Political science · Sociology · Complex Network Analysis Techniques · Computational and Text Analysis Methods · Computer Science · Social Media and Politics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access