Desinformación anticientífica sobre la COVID-19 difundida en Twitter en Hispanoamérica

David García-Marín; Marta Merino-Ortego

doi:10.7764/cdi.52.42795

Authors

David García-Marín Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Marta Merino-Ortego Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.52.42795

Keywords:

disinformation, fake news, COVID-19, scientific denial, fact-checking, Ibero-America

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the formal characteristics, the spaces of dissemination and the anti-science narratives related to COVID-19 and their engagement in Ibero-America. This type of disinformation has hardly been specifically investigated in this context; the research has been more focused on the study of fake news about this crisis from more general perspectives. A total of 238 fake contents were analyzed in two phases: a study of all verified fake contents spread in 2020 in this region and an analysis of the most propagated tweets included in the hashtag #plandemia. Quantitative results were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistical procedures using chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, U-Mann-Whitney tests, correlational studies, and linear regression. This research advances some of the patterns of scientific disinformation, which may be useful for future health crises: the high prevalence of fabricated content, the relevance of visual elements (although they are not predictors of engagement in this type of narrative), and the growing importance of instant messaging services as propagation spaces. It also discusses the remarkable role of fact-checkers against disinformation. These entities are proving to be effective in dismantling the denialist and conspiracy narratives circulating about the disease and to achieve a more effective communication of science.

Author Biographies

David García-Marín, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Professor and researcher at the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) in Spain, where he teaches subjects on new technologies and the information society and radio production. He coordinator of Institutional Development and University Extension of the Faculty of Communication of the URJC. Winner of the VIII Innovative Teachers Award of the URJC (2021). Researcher of the Jean Monnet EUDFAKE Chair: EU, disinformation and fake news of the European Commission. Currently, he works on research on new narratives and fact-checking, podcasting and digital audio.

Marta Merino-Ortego, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

Master's degree in Communication and Online Education from the National Distance Education University (UNED) of Spain. Her main line of research focuses on fact-checking and disinformation discourse linked to science. She graduated in Teaching in Early Childhood Education from the University of Zaragoza. In the educational field, she has conducted research on the emotional dimension of the literary experience in early childhood education.

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