Abstract

Two strategies are proposed for dealing with disinformation by using content curation, which we term “curating the truth” and “curating the lie.” The former is the traditional concept of content curation, which seeks to optimize existing content of value. The latter is a curation process linked to supporting the debunking of hoaxes, rumors, and falsehoods. These two strategies are exemplified through four cases of curation posts on Twitter. Various implications are discussed, such as the identification of and access to the sources of hoaxes or the cost of each strategy.

Abstract

Media social responsibility is rarely more evident than in the news coverage of a crisis, disaster or emergency. This research analyses the use of and trust in information sources through a nationwide survey of 30 editors-in-chief of Spain’s most relevant newspapers, radio, television and online media outlets (N=30). With a very high response rate (76.66%), the findings confirm that the use of unofficial sources (victims and those affected) are prioritized over official government sources. It is significant that the inferential analysis reveals that the editors give the same credibility as a source of information to the government as it does to the victims in the current context of misinformation, fake news and hoaxes. It is concluded that newsmaking should be built on the balanced use of official and unofficial sources. The results also confirm that the entire newsroom participates in this coverage and no journalistic specialization is detected amongst reporters.

Abstract

Media social responsibility is rarely more evident than in the news coverage of a crisis, disaster or emergency. This research analyses the use of and trust in information sources through a nationwide survey of 30 editors-in-chief of Spain’s most relevant newspapers, radio, television and online media outlets (N=30). With a very high response rate (76.66%), the findings confirm that the use of unofficial sources (victims and those affected) are prioritized over official government sources. It is significant that the inferential analysis reveals that the editors give the same credibility as a source of information to the government as it does to the victims in the current context of misinformation, fake news and hoaxes. It is concluded that newsmaking should be built on the balanced use of official and unofficial sources. The results also confirm that the entire newsroom participates in this coverage and no journalistic specialization is detected amongst reporters.

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

The antivax movement is now a constant phenomenon with increasing social implications. This study explores how the antivax movement is articulated in Romania on the basis of qualitative analysis applied to interviews. Our pilot study focuses on the opinions of 100 persons who oppose vaccination interviewed between 2017 and 2020. We conducted both face-to-face and online semistructured interviews to trace the factors determining attitudes against vaccination. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first such extended study to target individuals rather than groups or media discourse. We strive to provide a multifaceted view on how the antivax phenomenon is taking shape. Responses varied in style and length, so we needed to systematize the narratives. We filtered the answers using the interpretive net described by Entman (1993), thereby grouping the main narratives into four sections. We then reconstructed the implicit frames used by individuals in interpreting their position. We consider content quality analysis to be a relevant method to reveal the facets and depth of the antivax phenomenon, thereby enabling more complex explanations. We compare the results of this study with rationales stemming from similar investigations conducted around the world and then highlight opinions specific to the Romanian public.

Abstract

This work aims to establish whether astroturfing was used during the Covid-19 pandemic to manipulate Spanish public opinion through Twitter. This study analyzes tweets published in Spanish and geolocated in the Philippines, and its first objective is to determine the existence of an organized network that directs its messages mainly towards Spain. To determine the non-existence of a random network, a preliminary collection of 1,496,596 tweets was carried out. After determining its 14 main clusters, 280 users with a medium-low profile of participation and micro- and nano-influencer traits were randomly selected and followed for 103 days, for a total of 309,947 tweets. Network science, text mining, sentiment and emotion, and bot probability analyses were performed using Gephi and R. Their network structure suggests an ultra-small-world phenomenon, which would determine the existence of a possible organized network that tries not to be easily identifiable. The data analyzed confirm a digital communication scenario in which astroturfing is used as a strategy aimed at manipulating public opinion through non-influencers (cybertroops). These users create and disseminate content with proximity and closeness to different groups of public opinion, mixing topics of general interest with disinformation or polarized content.

Abstract

Concern regarding information disorders has been magnified by the proliferation of social networks. Since its occupation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has been spewing disinformation both inside and outside its borders, giving rise to a hybrid conflict, which since 24 February 2022 has become an invasion. Faced with this flood of malicious information on social networks, fact-checkers assume the role of content curators, relying on contextualization, verification, and literacy improvement to reduce such noise. This work studies the Twitter activity of three Spanish fact-checkers (Newtral, EFE Verifica, and Maldito Bulo), to fight this new epidemic of disinformation. The sample (n = 397) was subjected to content analysis to study the evolution of the verifications and their reaction capacity, the purpose of their activity, the formats in which the content is presented, and their distribution and interaction as revealed by reactions on Twitter. The results reveal a rapid, albeit repetitive, response of the fact-checkers to the invasion, support from them to end the internationalization of hoaxes, a reliance on denials and contextualization rather than literacy improvement, unattractive formats, and a distribution and impact that demonstrate a greater reaction to sensational and emotive content.