[Preprint (accepted)] News Aggregation

This paper explores the multifaceted landscape of news aggregation, highlighting its diverse practices and the resulting implications for information dissemination, narrative construction and public engagement. News aggregation encompasses manual, semi-automated and fully automated processes undertaken by traditional news media or digital platforms such as search engines or social media. While the credibility of the process is a corollary to assessing the quality of aggregated content, algorithmically driven processes pose several challenges in this regard, not only due to their lack of transparency but also due to their limited ability to detect and prevent the spread of disinformation, especially in the era of generative artificial intelligence. This paper also highlights the dual nature of news aggregation for democratic discourse, either by reinforcing existing media biases or by contributing to the polarisation of public debates. At the same time, they hold the promise of expanding accessibility and fostering greater audience engagement.

Reference

Dierickx, L. and Lindén C.-G. (2025), News Aggregation. In Nai, A., Grömping, M., & Wirz, D. (Eds). Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Edward Elgar Publishing. Accepted version.