Ethics of digital journalism and communications as the core of professional identity of future media specialists in a polarized media ecosystem

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of digital ethics as the core of the professional identity of future journalists and communication specialists in the context of a polarized media ecosystem characterized by the growth of disinformation, the operation of algorithmic filter bubbles and declining trust in the media. The goal of the study is to identify the relationship between the level of digital literacy, attitudes toward technological fact checking tools, and the resilience of ethical principles, as well as to assess the effectiveness of a specially developed educational module on the ethics of digital communications. The empirical base included a standardized survey of 874 media students from 12 Russian universities (48 questions on the perception of ethical challenges, digital literacy, and readiness for professional activity), 25 semi-structured interviews with digital media executives, media lawyers, developers, and educators, as well as a longitudinal pedagogical experiment conducted in three universities with experimental (n=126) and control (n=118) groups. Quantitative data were analyzed in SPSS (descriptive, correlation, and regression statistics), and interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo. The results show that students highly value the importance of combating disinformation and protecting personal data but underestimate algorithmic bias and AI ethics, preferring traditional manual fact-checking and familiar tools (plagiarism checkers, reverse image search) over AI platforms and blockchain solutions. Strong positive correlations were found between digital literacy and readiness for information verification, understanding of algorithmic risks, and commitment to source protection, which indicates an inseparable link between technological competence and ethical behavior. The implementation of the integrated module Ethics of Digital Communications led to a significant increase in the awareness of personal responsibility, readiness to use complex instrumental fact-checking tools, and critical assessment of the role of algorithms, confirming the effectiveness of a practice-oriented, technologically enriched approach to shaping the professional identity of future media specialists and setting directions for the modernization of educational programs.