Media Studies and CommunicationPublic Relations and Crisis CommunicationMisinformation and Its Impacts

G. Perreault, Phoebe Maares

2026.1.2JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

DOI: 10.1080/00909882.2025.2573950

Abstract

ABSTRACT The rise of far-right extremism necessitates an evaluation of the ideal means of offering robust information quality to the public, even as hostile actors engage in expansive campaigns of misinformation. This forum manuscript centers on the role of local journalism as a means of combating misinformation, considering notable case studies from Germany and the United States. We argue that in order to enhance local journalism's ability to combat misinformation requires (1) response to misinformation through in-kind platforms and (2) response to misinformation through collaboration.

Citation format

PERREAULT, G.; MAARES, Phoebe. A NEW HOPE? Local journalism as a mitigation hub for misinformation. JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, 2026, 54(1): 130–136.