Information Disorder and Mainstream Media in Sri Lanka

Abstract

A great deal of research on information disorder focuses on social media as the source, producer and distributor of false content. Within this research, mainstream media is often positioned as an inadvertent distributor or amplifier of false and harmful content, not as a producer of it. Similarly, research on the problem of information disorder within Sri Lanka often focuses on social media as a producer of it.

This study attempts to contribute to literature that analyzes the role of Sri Lanka’s mainstream media as a producer and distributor of information disorder. For this purpose, a case study approach is used to evaluate reporting on Dr. Segu Siyabdeen Mohamed Shafi.