Ethical Issues Arising from Crowdfunding by Kenyan Citizen Journalists: An Analysis of Tiktok as A Crowdfunding Platform
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Date
2024-10
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Daystar University, School of Communication
Abstract
Citizen journalism has emerged with the rise of social media, where anyone with information can disseminate through these platforms, often bypassing traditional media regulations. Citizen journalists, with their creative abilities in creating material or news, have incorporated concepts like crowdfunding, whereby they seek funding from their audiences. This study used qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and qualitative content analysis to gather data from 17 crowdfunding citizen journalists on TikTok, and two media ethics experts, and analyzed 70 videos and photos from crowdfunding campaigns on TikTok. It focused on ethical dilemmas from Kenyan citizen journalists crowdfunding on TikTok, particularly those without formal journalistic training and sharing public interest stories. The study examined how principles like independence, objectivity, and fairness could be incorporated into crowdfunding posts to maintain media integrity and public trust. Interviews offered insights into participants' views on ethical issues in crowdfunding, while content analysis highlighted concerns like privacy violations, misrepresentation, lack of transparency, and sensationalism. Through thematic analysis, challenges in maintaining accuracy, privacy, and accountability were identified. Issues like bias, manipulation, and exploitation were prevalent, largely due to insufficient training and the absence of regulation. Other key findings included public perception of crowdfunding, proposed guidelines for its regulation, and the impact of crowdfunding on the media. These findings established a need for ethical guidelines to govern crowdfunding activities conducted by citizen journalists. The study recommended implementing ethical guidelines and training for citizen journalists, along with establishing regulatory frameworks to improve the integrity of crowdfunding on social media.
Description
Master of Arts in Communication
Keywords
Citizen journalism
Citation
Gitari, S. K. (2024). Ethical Issues Arising from Crowdfunding by Kenyan Citizen Journalists: An Analysis of Tiktok as A Crowdfunding Platform. Daystar University, School of Communication