IBERIFIER - Iberian Digital Media Research and Fact-Checking Hub

El Digital News Report España 2022 es la 9.ª edición del informe anual más global sobre consumo de noticias, elaborado por la Facultad de Comunicación de la Universidad de Navarra, en coordinación con el Reuters Institute de la Universidad de Oxford.

Estudio sobre la desinformación en la sociedad española, desarrollado por la Unión de Televisiones Comerciales en Abierto (UTECA) y la Universidad de Navarra. El informe, realizado a través de entrevistas mediante un cuestionario estructurado a un panel online compuesto por 1.224 a españoles mayores de 18 años, radiografía el sentir ciudadano en torno a la desinformación desde ángulos muy diversos. El trabajo de campo se realizó entre el 15 y el 25 de marzo de 2022. El estudio consta de tres bloques: 1) El auge de la desinformación, 2) El valor de la información, y 3) La regulación, factor clave.

A massive "infodemic" developed in parallel with the global COVID-19 pandemic and contributed to public misinformation at a time when access to quality information was crucial. This research aimed to analyze the science and health-related hoaxes that were spread during the pandemic with the objectives of (1) identifying the characteristics of the form and content of such false information, and the platforms used to spread them, and (2) formulating a typology that can be used to classify the different types of hoaxes according to their connection with scientific information. The study was conducted by analyzing the content of hoaxes which were debunked by the three main fact-checking organizations in Spain in the three months following WHO's announcement of the pandemic (N = 533). The results indicated that science and health content played a prominent role in shaping the spread of these hoaxes during the pandemic. The most common hoaxes on science and health involved information on scientific research or health management, used text, were based on deception , used real sources, were international in scope, and were spread through social networks. Based on the analysis, we proposed a system for classifying science and health-related hoaxes, and identified four types according to their connection to scientific knowledge: "hasty" science, decontextualized science, badly interpreted science, and falsehood without a scientific basis. The rampant propagation and widespread availability of disinfor-mation point to the need to foster media and scientific caution and literacy among the public and increase awareness of the importance of timing and substantiation of scientific research. The results can be useful in improving media literacy to face disinformation, and the typology we formulate can help develop future systems for automated detection of health and science-related hoaxes.

Introducción: La desinformación se ha convertido en un problema clave para las sociedades democráticas contemporáneas. Para contrarrestar esta amenaza, las autoridades públicas de numerosos países han puesto en marcha diversas iniciativas legales, tecnológicas y educativas. Este artículo aporta una revisión bibliográfica y de textos legales, que evidencia la importancia creciente otorgada por la Unión Europea a la alfabetización mediática. Metodología: Mediante revisión documental, se examinan informes y textos legales europeos y de países de la UE, con el fin de evaluar el grado de relevancia que se asigna a la alfabetización mediática para luchar contra la desinformación. Resultados: El análisis comprueba una presencia recurrente de la alfabetización mediática como una de las medidas necesarias para combatir la desinformación en el territorio europeo. Discusión y conclusiones: Más allá de simples soluciones tecnológicas y legales para combatir la desinformación, se comprueba que la Unión Europea apuesta por co-responsabilizar a la ciudadanía, mediante políticas de promoción de la alfabetización mediática. Se consolida, en definitiva, un modelo de lucha contra la desinformación basado en un conjunto de soluciones multinivel.

In recent years, the term ‘fake news’ has become popular as a paradigm of mis- and disinformation. The term tends to put this phenomenon within the framework of media organizations. However, the problem is more complex, since it also involves other entities dedicated to deliberately producing and spreading falsehoods, as well as social networks and large internet platforms that work as global carriers of such misleading content. This chapter analyzes the evolution of disinformation in this expanded framework, contextualizing the production, dissemination and consumption of deceptive content beyond the media. Drawing upon a historical review of the mis- and disinformation phenomena over the last few centuries, it examines the more recent transformation experienced by purposefully false content on the internet and big data ecosystem.