R-P05 · TOPIC · platforms-and-media-systemsGRF dossier · service level R0
GRFInformation Integrity and Public TrustIn development
Topic dossier · Information Integrity and Public Trust

Platforms and media systems

Most people now meet news through platforms whose ranking and advertising systems decide what is seen. News organizations depend on those platforms for audience and have lost much of the advertising that funded reporting. This page sets out how platform design and media economics shape information quality, the records that show it, and the regulators, platforms and media organizations that decide.

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In this dossier7 parts
  1. 01In briefThe short answer
  2. 02The questionPlatforms and media systems: how the risk develops
  3. 03Key termsTerms used on this page
  4. 04IndicatorsWhat is measured, and how well
  5. 05CanvasFrom sources to decisions
  6. 06SourcesWhere the evidence comes from
  7. 07DecisionsWho decides, and what the evidence serves

GRF · In development · service level R0

01In brief

The short answer.

Platforms and media systems are the online services, ranking systems, advertising markets and news organizations through which information reaches people. Their design and economics shape exposure, plurality and quality. Digital services and competition regulators, platform executives and media regulators hold the decisions.

02Geography

Connected activity in Eastern Europe.

For platforms and media systems, in GRF's situational-awareness reading, the map opens on population density and night lights with night lights tonight from NASA GIBS, framed on Eastern Europe; 4 further NASA layers wait in the list.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 2

Connected activity, for this page

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

For platforms and media systems, in GRF's situational-awareness reading, the map opens on population density and night lights with night lights tonight from NASA GIBS, framed on Eastern Europe; 4 further NASA layers wait in the list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA/NOAA VIIRS · GDACS · NASA EONETSources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). CC BY 4.0
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Observed (EO): NASA/NOAA VIIRS (Suomi NPP). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Live: GDACS (EC JRC / UN OCHA) Events are indicative, not official warnings.
  • Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not official warnings.
  • Optional layers (5 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Active fires and thermal anomalies, last day: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024

03Console

Narrative monitor, in outline.

The working screen behind this subject: its structure, terms and states. Names are placeholders and values illustrative.

Narrative monitor

Platforms and media systems · Crisis information cell · Week 40

Harmful rumour spreadingGRF · Information Integrity and Public Trust

Narratives

Tap water poisoned after flood89HighFalseCorrection out
Shelters charging fees33MediumFalseDrafting
Dam about to fail73HighCheckingHolding line
Aid only for registered voters46MediumFalsePrebunked

Spread

Response protocol

  1. Detectmonitor
  2. Verifyprovenance
  3. Assess harmthreshold
  4. Respondcorrect · prebunk
  5. Reporttransparency
Narrative monitor: the screen's structure, terms and states for Platforms and media systems.Placeholder names and illustrative values; a design, not a record or a live system.
04The question

Platforms and media systems: how the risk develops.

Digital media incentives and accountability. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.

Mechanism

Ranking decides visibility

Recommender systems choose what each user sees. Changes to ranking signals can cut news exposure or amplify low-quality sources without public notice.

Mechanism

Advertising moved away from news

Digital advertising concentrated on large platforms. News outlets lost revenue, cut newsrooms and became dependent on platform traffic and deals.

Mechanism

Opacity limits oversight

Without access to platform data, researchers and regulators cannot assess systemic risks. Transparency and data access duties are new and contested.

Mechanism

Concentration reduces plurality

Ownership concentration in media and dominance of a few platforms reduce the diversity of sources and increase the influence of a few decisions.

05Key terms

Terms used on this page.

Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

TermDefinition
Recommender systemSoftware that selects and orders content for each user based on predicted interest or engagement.
Very large online platformUnder the DSA, a platform with at least forty-five million monthly active users in the EU, subject to extra duties.
Media pluralityThe diversity of media ownership, sources and viewpoints available to the public.
06Indicators

What is measured, and how well.

Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.

IndicatorUnitCadenceSource typeLabel
Share of people using social media as main news sourceshare of respondentsannualDigital News ReportESTIMATED
Journalists employedcountannualLabour statisticsOFFICIAL
Media ownership concentrationrisk levelannualMedia Pluralism MonitorESTIMATED
Very large platform risk assessments and audits publishedcountannualDSA transparency recordsOFFICIAL
Researcher data access requests grantedcountannualRegulator and platform recordsREPORTED
Statements of reasons for content moderationcount by platform and groundcontinuousDSA Transparency DatabaseOFFICIAL
07Canvas

From sources to decisions.

The topic as a computational graph: named sources feed the methods, an evidence review gates the outputs, and the decisions stay with the authorities that hold them.

Pipeline canvas · Platforms and media systems as a run graphDesign, not a record
Platforms and media systems: responding to harmful informationPublic narratives are monitored; items are detected and their provenance verified; harm is assessed against a threshold; the response (correct, prebunk, label, escalate) is chosen and reported transparently. Design of the process, not a record of a run.

Fig. 02Nodes carry their type, two metric rows and a state; connectors show what feeds what; dashed frames name the owners; the timeline is the cadence. Design of the pipeline, not a record of a run.

08Sources

Where the evidence comes from.

Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.

SourceWhat it givesLicence class
DSA Transparency DatabaseStatements of reasons for content moderation decisionsPublic, EU reuse terms
Media Pluralism MonitorRisks to media pluralism in European countriesFree to read, terms to check
Reuters Institute Digital News ReportNews use by platform and countryFree to read, terms to check
Media Ownership MonitorOwnership of major outlets by countryFree to read, terms to check
Competition authority market studies on digital advertisingAnalysis of advertising markets and platform powerPublic records, terms per authority
09Decisions

Who decides, and what the evidence serves.

Information Integrity and Public Trust prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.

Who decidesThe questionEvidence this page serves
Digital services regulatorsWhether platforms meet risk, transparency and data access dutiesRisk assessments, audits and researcher evidence
Competition authoritiesWhether platform conduct harms competition in advertising and newsMarket studies and complaints
Platform executivesHow ranking systems treat news and what transparency to giveResearch evidence and regulatory requirements
Media regulators and legislaturesWhat plurality and public service media rules applyPlurality monitoring and comparative law

Outputs this topic produces

  • Guide to systemic risk assessment duties for platforms
  • Comparative notes on platform and news bargaining arrangements
  • Dialogue briefs on researcher data access
  • Questions for regulators on media plurality
10Core questions

What experts ask.

Media systems researchers ask how incentives and design shape information quality.

  • How do recommendation systems and engagement-based business models affect what content spreads?
  • What has the decline of local news meant for information quality and civic life?
  • How transparent are platforms about their systems, and how can researchers access data?
  • Which accountability arrangements, such as audits, risk assessments and transparency reports, are effective?
  • How do differences between jurisdictions affect global platforms and local media?
11Mechanisms and drivers

Incentives built into the system.

Many platforms earn revenue from attention, and their systems rank content partly by predicted engagement. Content that provokes strong emotion can attract engagement, which may advantage sensational or divisive material. Platforms also make choices about friction, labelling and amplification that significantly affect what spreads. These effects vary by platform, design and user behaviour, and research findings are contested.

Meanwhile, the advertising revenue that once funded journalism has shifted to platforms, and many local news outlets have closed or shrunk. Research links the loss of local news to lower civic engagement and less scrutiny of local government. Accountability frameworks increasingly require large platforms to assess systemic risks and provide data access to researchers.

12Methods and data

How the evidence is built, and where it stops.

  1. 01

    Algorithmic audits

    Testing how systems rank and recommend content, using machine learning expertise. Access is limited and systems change often.

  2. 02

    Media economics research

    Analysing revenue, ownership and market structure. Data on private firms is limited.

  3. 03

    Network analysis

    Studying information flows across platforms with network science. Cross-platform data is scarce.

  4. 04

    Policy comparison

    Comparing accountability frameworks across jurisdictions. Many are recent and untested.

13Methods

How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.

  1. Network science and contagionDetecting coordinated behaviour · Tracing narrative spread · Mapping media ecosystemsApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  2. Social and behavioural scienceMeasuring trust and exposure · Testing interventions · Qualitative study of information needsApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
  3. Artificial intelligence and machine learningClassifier error in moderation · Synthetic media detection limits · Recommender auditsApplied here
    Canonical · STEM Commons
14Questions

Questions and answers.

What is a systemic risk under the Digital Services Act?
A risk arising from the design or use of a very large platform, such as the spread of illegal content or negative effects on civic discourse, elections or public health, that the platform must assess and mitigate.
Why does researcher data access matter?
Because independent research is the main way to check platform claims about risks and mitigation. The DSA creates a vetted researcher access route.
What is media plurality?
The diversity of media ownership, sources and viewpoints available to the public, which supports informed debate.
Do algorithms create filter bubbles?
Evidence is mixed. Most people encounter a range of views, but recommendation systems can reinforce existing preferences for some users and topics.
Why does local news matter for risk?
Local journalism provides trusted information in emergencies and scrutiny of local decisions. Its decline leaves gaps that rumours can fill.
Does GRF regulate platforms?
No. GRF does not regulate. It convenes dialogue and publishes comparative research.
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