All of the interviewees from leading news media outlets in Hong Kong acknowledged the potential threat posed by the large amount of misinformation and fake news circulating on digital platforms. They emphasised their great concern over this issue and that they ensured news was accurate before publication. The defence against misinformation generally relied on journalistic professionalism, such as locating the original sources and a practice of double-sourcing. None of the news media organisations collaborated with external fact-checking institutions, nor did they have any internal departments for fact checking. Likewise, algorithms are not used in fact-checking.
The battle against misinformation online has intensified since the anti-government protests started in June 2019, with fake news becoming prevalent. Misinformation and rumours have deepened the division of society and polarisation of public opinion. The situation has been worsened by the waning confidence in the Hong Kong government amongst the public (Banjo & Lung, 2019). A study conducted by The University of Hong Kong (2019a) found that 46 per cent of respondents distrusted the Hong Kong government. An injunction recently granted by HKSAR’s High Court bans the “disseminating, circulating, publishing or re-publishing” of online materials that incite violence.
