Understanding media empowerment: citizen journalism in Palestine

Advances in technology and social media have reshaped journalism, enabling widespread participation in news production. Citizen journalism—news produced by ordinary people via smartphones and social platforms—has grown rapidly, yet professional standards, ethics, and objectivity in such content remain debated. The literature shows gaps, particularly in Middle Eastern contexts such as Palestine, where media face political constraints and conflict-related pressures. This study investigates citizen journalism practices in Palestine and their implications for professionalism, ethics, objectivity, gatekeeping, verification, information accessibility, and accuracy. It seeks to understand how citizen journalists as gatekeepers interpret and perceive these key journalistic concepts, and how such perceptions affect media empowerment and democratization of content production. The study tests three hypotheses: (1) There is a statistically significant difference in the ability of citizen journalism to undermine gatekeeping practices over media content based on exercising censorship over user content on social media platforms. (2) There is no significant difference in the effect size of citizen journalism on freedom of speech and information accessibility based on citizen journalism’s lack of accuracy, professionalism, regulation, objectivity, verification, and digital media ethics. (3) There is a relationship between adopting citizen journalism as a complementary method to traditional media and the reliability of news stories presented by citizen journalists.

The literature identifies citizen journalism as citizen-produced news disseminated via smartphones and social media, often during crises or political events. Compared to professional journalism, citizen journalism typically lacks formal training, editorial oversight, and adherence to professional norms such as accuracy, objectivity, verification, and ethics. Scholars debate definitions and boundaries of citizen journalism, noting its psychological and sociological effects on audiences, particularly regarding trust and credibility. Research shows that skeptical or cynical individuals may trust citizen-produced news more than official sources; however, credibility concerns persist due to perceived bias, lower content quality, and lack of verification. Gatekeeping and framing theories explain how selection and presentation of content reflect psychological and cultural factors. Collective behavior theories link media to crowd responses, especially during crises (e.g., COVID-19). In Middle Eastern contexts characterized by authoritarian governance and media restrictions, citizen journalists can act as mediators to enhance transparency and trust, though platform restrictions and conflict dynamics complicate their role. In Palestine, citizen journalism influences attitudes related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, identity, and mobilization, but nonprofessional practices can lead to misrepresentation, biases, and reinforced gatekeeping by platforms. Overall, the literature underscores tensions between empowerment (access, participation, diversity of voices) and professional standards (accuracy, ethics, verification).

Design: Quantitative analytical survey using a standardized, self-administered questionnaire built from validated scales in prior literature. A pilot test with 20 participants assessed readability and validity, after which the main survey was deployed. Sampling and participants: Stratified sampling was used to select 300 undergraduate students from 10 universities across Palestine (noted as local universities in the West Bank). Participants were active social media users from diverse backgrounds and regions. Participation was voluntary. Measures: Items were mainly measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1=totally disagree to 5=totally agree). For Hypothesis 1, respondents rated on a 0–10 scale the extent to which citizen journalism can undermine gatekeeping over media content. They also indicated agreement regarding whether popular social media platforms in Palestine exercise censorship over user content. Ethics: Participants were informed about the study’s purpose; written consent was obtained; withdrawal was allowed; no personal data were collected; confidentiality ensured; original data deleted after computerization; study approved by Bethlehem University’s ethics committee. Analysis: SPSS was used. Hypothesis 1 was tested with One-way ANOVA, examining differences in perceived ability of citizen journalism to undermine gatekeeping based on perceptions of platform censorship. Hypothesis 2 used Two-way ANOVA to test differences in the effect of citizen journalism on information accessibility and freedom of speech given levels of accuracy, professionalism, regulation, objectivity, verification, and media ethics. Hypothesis 3 used a Chi-Square Test of Association to examine the relationship between adopting citizen journalism as a complementary method and perceived reliability of citizen-produced news. Demographics (age, gender, education) were controlled. The analytical framework emphasized constructing clear dependent and independent variables to test the hypotheses and reduce bias.

• Hypothesis 1 (One-way ANOVA): No significant difference in the perceived ability of citizen journalism to undermine gatekeeping based on perceptions of platform censorship (p=0.549>0.05). Mean perceived undermining across agreement levels hovered around 6.15/10 overall (N=300). The finding suggests that despite perceptions of censorship, citizen journalism is not seen as significantly altering gatekeeping over media content in Palestine, likely due to platform restrictions and political context.
• Hypothesis 2 (Two-way ANOVA): No significant difference in the effect of citizen journalism on freedom of speech and information accessibility based on citizen journalism’s lack of accuracy, professionalism, regulation, objectivity, verification, and media ethics (model p=0.109>0.05; adjusted R^2≈-0.033). Despite acknowledged deficits in professional standards, these do not significantly diminish perceived freedom of expression or information access enabled by citizen journalism.
• Hypothesis 3 (Chi-square): No significant relationship between adopting citizen journalism as a complementary method to traditional media and the perceived reliability of citizen-produced news (χ2=3.964, df=8, p=0.860). Adoption as a complement appears driven by contextual and practical factors rather than perceived reliability. Additional descriptive insights: 68% of respondents agreed that citizen journalism enables individuals to create a distinctive identity to express opinions and perspectives. 27% agreed that citizen journalism does not lack regulation, verification, and objectivity, while 47.3% disagreed, indicating perceived deficits in standards. 65% said citizen journalism is better than traditional journalism for diversity of sources and exclusivity. The study also notes that official media could leverage citizen journalism by providing accurate, valid information to citizen journalists, potentially increasing audience engagement by enhancing perceptions of independence and credibility.

The findings indicate that in Palestine, citizen journalism contributes to empowerment primarily through enhanced freedom of expression and information accessibility, even when professional standards are perceived as lacking. However, it does not significantly undermine gatekeeping, likely due to platform-level restrictions and broader political constraints on media. The absence of a significant relationship between adopting citizen journalism as a complementary method and perceived reliability suggests that professional media may integrate citizen content for reasons such as timeliness, diversity of sources, and exclusivity, independent of reliability considerations. This has implications for practice: official outlets can improve audience engagement and perceived credibility by supporting citizen journalists with accurate information and verification resources. At the same time, the professional deficits (ethics, objectivity, verification) commonly associated with citizen journalism underscore the need for digital media ethics frameworks tailored to online, non-institutional content production. In the conflict-affected Palestinian context, these dynamics reflect the tension between democratization of content and the persistence of gatekeeping, with citizen journalism offering visibility and pluralism but not fundamentally altering control structures.

The study provides empirical evidence from Palestine that citizen journalism enhances freedom of expression and access to information but does not significantly erode gatekeeping practices. Moreover, its adoption as a complement to traditional journalism is not tied to perceptions of reliability. The work highlights both the empowering aspects (identity formation, diverse sources, exclusivity) and the professional shortcomings (accuracy, verification, ethics, objectivity) of citizen journalism. It argues for developing and adopting digital media ethics and professional standards for online content creators to improve credibility without constraining expressive freedoms. The study contributes to understanding citizen journalism within a politically constrained environment and suggests actionable pathways for traditional media to collaborate with citizen journalists by supplying accurate information and verification support. Future research should employ longitudinal, comparative, and mixed-method designs, and incorporate interviews with citizen journalists to deepen insights into psychological, social, and cultural factors shaping citizen journalism and its societal impacts.

• Sample characteristics: Data were collected from communication students rather than professional journalists, potentially limiting perspectives and affecting external validity.
• Geographic scope: Data were collected in one country and primarily two major cities, limiting generalizability beyond the Palestinian context.
• Theoretical/operational constraints: Scarcity of fully fitting theoretical frameworks led to operational limits during study design and conduct. Recommendations for future research include longitudinal studies to track changes over time, cross-national comparative work (e.g., neighboring countries) to assess cultural dimensions, mixed-methods and triangulation to integrate psychological aspects, and interviews with citizen journalists to capture their perspectives on social and psychological influences.