Abstract

Analysis of post-truth and, especially, of the underlying phenomenon of fake news in terms of evaluation and ability to identify reliable sources, and the role of libraries as infomediaries. The main international initiatives proposed by organizations such as IFLA and ALA are discussed. According to the bibliography reviewed, two main kinds of action are proposed: inclusion in informational literacy programs, mainly extending media literacy so that they are oriented from a more civic perspective; and content curation, making thematic guides that are a point of information about the phenomenon and its tools to verify facts. Libraries should act also as a gateway to disseminate information of the library’s collection.

Abstract

Drawing upon the misinformation stories debunked by the three accredited fact-checking platforms in Spain, a content analysis of all the hoaxes (N = 292) bound to the Covid-19 pandemic is performed, over the first month of the state of alarm decreed by the Spanish Government (March 14th, 2020 – April 13th, 2020). The study shows that the hoaxes about the coronavirus were disseminated mainly on social networks and, among them, especially in closed ones, such as the WhatsApp mobile messaging application. It also detects the most frequent formal and content peculiarities of misinformation. The results reveal that the pandemic, in addition to generating a large number of hoaxes on health and science, also led to the dissemination of many political fake news. The formats, sources and territories of origin of the hoaxes are also explored. Beyond the empirical results, this study makes theoretical contributions in the framework of the emerging studies on information disorders. Specifically, it provides a definition of hoax, as well as a typology in which four main types are identified: joke, exaggeration, decontextualization and deception. Based on these four types, a ‘hoax severity diagram’ is proposed.

Abstract

Journalism has been able to adapt quickly to technological innovation, especially in recent years. The application of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to this discipline is a phenomenon that has developed rapidly in a very short time. This is therefore a research area that, in spite of its short life, deserves special interest. The objective of this review article is to map and analyze the global scientific production on this topic and to identify which countries are most focused on this issue, which areas are studied most and using which methodological approaches, how and where it is evolving, and the gaps present in this research. The review of 358 texts confirms the considerable attention from academia during the last decade, especially between 2015 and 2020, and that the USA is, by far, the country with most publications on this subject. Most of the published works are research articles carried out, above all, using qualitative methodologies. The areas that have attracted the most interest to date are data journalism, robot writing, and news verification. As is to be expected in a developing discipline, others such as the review of the role of the journalist, the personalization of content, or the incorporation of AI into teaching of journalism have not yet been sufficiently explored but surely will be in the near future.

Abstract

The emergence of new players and technological platforms, changes in consumer habits, and the transformation of the digital ecosystem accelerated the process of journalistic innovation in the last decade (2010-2020), emphasized by the Covid-19 pandemic. Journalism has undergone a process of permanent change, affecting practices, products, and professionals. In this context, this study identifies the most prominent journalistic innovations, describes their characteristics, and analyzes their impact in terms of the value provided in organization, their scope in the industry, and their contribution to society. To achieve this, semistructured interviews were conducted with a group of experts (n = 22) made up of academics and professionals. Once the innovations (n = 60) from a total of 253 references were coded and added up, the scope of these changes in the organizational, industrial, and societal  fields was analyzed to obtain a list of the 20 most relevant. The results indicate that innovation emerges incrementally in how journalism is produced, organized, distributed, and sustained. Some innovations have substantially influenced organization and society, such as the membership model or fact-checking; however, they are still far from being widely adopted in the industry. Data journalism has been catalogued as the most relevant journalistic innovation because it implies changes in production, generates quality journalism, and encourages its implementation by other representatives in the sector.

Abstract

Disinformation is one of the great challenges threatening the health of the public space and democratic systems, which must be based on truth to facilitate decision-making by citizens. For this reason, the fight against fake news has attracted attention from professionals and researchers during the last five years. In the journalistic field, numerous fact-checking outlets have been established. They use the media at their disposal and, above all, social networks to make verified content visible. TikTok, an emerging social video platform (very popular among the youth population), is the latest tool to be explored by fact-checkers to make the truth public. In this context, this paper aims to (1) determine the characteristics of fact-checkers’ videos that drive their engagement on TikTok and (2) identify the factors that predict the number of likes, comments, views, times shared, and engagement rate of such content. All the videos published on this platform by the Spanish fact-checkers Maldito bulo and Newtral (n = 320) during the first 26 months of activity of both outlets were analyzed. Bivariate correlational studies, multiple linear regression, and binary logistic regression tests were applied. The type of content (verification versus explanation) has a greater impact on engagement than the topics of the videos. Verifications multiply the probability of a content getting an above-average number of likes, by 2.42. If the video is hosted by a woman, it doubles its chances of getting an above-average number of shares. Our results provide other valuable data that can help fact-checkers make their content more easily spreadable.

Abstract

The rise of fact-checking as an innovative tool aimed at improving democratic well-being has become a transnational movement in journalism. In June 2021, the Duke Reporters’ Lab database features 341 such initiatives around the world, including 33 active fact-checking projects in countries pertaining to the Mediterranean or Polarized Pluralist Model (Hallin; Mancini, 2004). Following previous research on fact-checking in other territories, this qualitative study expands the understanding of how this practice is performed by four platforms of countries belonging to this journalistic culture: Maldita.es (Spain), Les Surligneurs (France), Observador (Portugal), and Pagella Politica (Italy). Through in-depth interviews with their decision-makers, this work offers a deep understanding of the structure, agenda, practices, and values, the role of the public, and the challenges that these organizations face. Normally run by small but multidisciplinary teams, the studied initiatives show high levels of transparency and a tendency for continuous improvement and professionalization despite their limitations. Following the example of leading initiatives in the USA, the UK, Latin America and Europe, the analyzed organizations cover a wide range of thematic areas and make use of the latest digital tools. They employ robust methodologies when selecting the content they verify, consult an extensive range of sources, and set various control filters before publication, which proves their commitment to transparency and accountability. Furthermore, they guarantee the right of reply and are widely open to public participation and broader dissemination of their work through mainstream media. From difficulties in accessing public information to scarcity of resources and increased competition, fact-checking platforms in the Mediterranean context face major challenges that have forced them to rethink their role and find new revenue streams. These organizations highlight the need to enhance the impact of fact-checking among citizens, journalists, and politicians and, ultimately, to go back to the roots of journalism.

Abstract

Fact-checking is a relatively recent journalistic genre in Portugal that has been growing in recent years, alternately viewed as a journalism reform movement or criticized as inefficient and idealistic. Our study is a comparative analysis of the output of the Portuguese fact-checkers Observador and Polígrafo in the 2019–2022 elections to determine whether their coverage is politically biased. Performing a quantitative content analysis of all fact-checking articles on national politics (n = 265) published during the campaign for the parliamentary elections, our results show that fact-checking activity has increased in the last elections. These data may indicate that fact-checking agencies have increased their capacity and resources, but may also suggest a greater presence of subjectivity and deception in Portuguese political discourse. The focus of Portuguese fact-checkers is statements produced during political debates (70%), while social media verification is disregarded. Our most significant finding is the lack of evidence of partisan or political bias in the selection of the assessed statements. Both fact-checkers do not show a tendency to check statements that are more or less anti- or pro-government and/or statements that are ideologically favorable to the left wing or the right wing. Therefore, our findings confirm the high level of professionalism and impartiality of Portuguese fact-checkers evidenced in other studies, and demonstrate that the Portuguese citizen’s skepticism toward the practice has no foundation.