Media’s Adherence to Ethical Standards in Reporting Affinity Fraud: Initial Evidence
Keywords:
Affinity fraud, ethics, framing, media, sensationalismAbstract
Affinity fraud exploits trust within close-knit communities, and the media, at its discretion, determines what affinity fraud is newsworthy. This paper explores how the media portrays affinity fraud in relation to the principles of journalistic ethics and whether any pillar of the SPJ Code of Ethics was more frequently violated than the others in the affinity fraud cases examined. Through a qualitative textual analysis of news articles about three high-profile affinity fraud cases—Jim Bakker, Bernie Madoff, and Sam Bankman-Fried—reported by five media outlets, this paper examines the media reporting of each affinity fraud case against the established ethical standards of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics.
Overall, the paper finds that the media adhere to the SPJ Code of Ethics, with the ‘Minimize Harm’ pillar being most often violated through sensationalized reporting and framing in articles. This paper explores a gap in the literature by focusing on the media’s portrayal of affinity fraud orchestrated by individuals, which remains underexplored despite some of these cases being historical. The paper underscores the importance of ethical journalism in reporting on affinity fraud and the need to focus on facts, avoid sensationalization, and unobjective framing. The media can proactively provide complementary information from credible sources, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, to improve awareness of preventive practices while reporting on affinity fraud cases.
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