A broad consensus has emerged in recent years that although rumours, conspiracy theories and fabricated information are far from new, in the changed structure and operating mechanisms of the public sphere today we are faced with something much more challenging than anything to date, and the massive scale of this disinformation can even pose a threat to the foundations of democracy. However, the consensus extends only to this statement, and opinions differ considerably about the causes of the increased threat of disinformation, whom to blame for it, and the most effective means to counter it. From the perspective of freedom of speech, the picture is not uniform either, and there has been much debate about the most appropriate remedies. It is commonly argued, for example, that the free speech doctrine of the United States does not allow for effective legal action against disinformation, while in Europe there is much more room for manoeuvre at the disposal of the legislator.

This chapter analyzes news discourses covering the peace talks between the Pakistan government and the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), the culmination of which resulted in a military operation known as Zarb e Azab. The data are news stories extracted from mainstream English-language newspapers in Pakistan – Dawn and The Nation. The aim is to examine the types of discourses constructed by the print media during the peace talks. To achieve this, a qualitative analysis is employed comprising a socio-cognitive approach to CDA that focuses on the use of language and the ideological construction of peace and war situations. The chapter also highlights the importance of responsible and ethical journalism and professional journalistic practices that may help to refine the ideological sensibilities of journalists.