The influence of user-generated content on the style and reliability of news in messenger apps: a regional aspect
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2026-59-1-160-168Keywords:
user-generated content, regional media, news style, information credibility, participatory journalism, messengersAbstract
This article examines the influence of user-generated content (UGC) on the style and credibility of regional news posted in public messaging channels. The aim of the study is to identify how active audience engagement in content creation transforms professional journalism standards, alters linguistic norms, and creates new challenges for information verification. This research contributes to the field of media studies by offering a systematic analysis of hybrid news models, where professional journalists and users jointly shape the agenda. This is particularly relevant given the growing influence of messaging apps as a key source of regional news. The theoretical basis for the study is based on works on participatory journalism, the digital transformation of media, and the ethical challenges of converging professional and user-generated content. The methodological framework includes content analysis, discourse analysis, and a comparative approach, enabling a comprehensive examination of stylistic changes, verification mechanisms, and editorial strategies for working with UGC. The empirical data consisted of 600 publications from three of Nizhny Novgorod's largest news channels – "My Nizhny Novgorod," "Nizhny Novgorod Without Censorship," and "Ni Mash" – from April to May 2025. The study's results demonstrate that user-generated content significantly influences news style, favoring informal, emotionally charged language, colloquialisms, and emojis. Furthermore, the reliability of information is often compromised by insufficient verification of user-submitted materials, as well as by a lack of clear source labeling. In some cases, elements of hate speech and aggressive verbal aggression are observed, particularly in materials with a high proportion of user-generated content.References
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