Browsing by Subject "Misinformation"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    A systematic literature review of the phenomenon of disinformation and misinformation
    (Cogitatio Press, 2023-04-28) Pérez Escolar, Marta; Lilleker, Darren; Tapia‐Frade, Alejandro; Comunicación; Facultad de Comunicación y Documentación
    Disinformation threatens the virtue of knowledge. The notion of truth becomes corrupted when citizens believe and give credibility to false, inaccurate, or misleading messages. This situation is particularly relevant in the digital age, where users of media platforms are exposed to different sorts of persuasive statements with uncertain origins and a lack of authenticity. How does academia understand the disinformation problem, and are we equipped to offer solutions? In response to this question, our study provides an overview of the general definitions, trends, patterns, and developments that represent the research on disinformation and misinformation. We conducted a systematic review of N = 756 publications covering eight years, 2014–2022. This period captures phenomena such as Trump’s emergence as a candidate for the US presidency, his term in office, as well as the leadership of figures such as Erdogan in Turkey, Bolsonaro in Brazil, Modi in India, and various similar populist and nationalist leaders across a range of democratic and semi‐democratic societies. This period is also one that witnessed the first global pandemic, when misinformation and disinformation not only threatened societal cohesion but the lives of people. This systematic review explores the critical terminology used, the areas of social life where disinformation is identified as problematic, the sources identified as creating or circulating this material, as well as the channels studied, the targets, and the persuasiveness of the discourse. What this article offers, then, is an overview of what we know about disinformation and what gaps in research should be pursued. We conclude that given the problems that misinformation and disinformation are seen to cause for democratic societies, we need to assess the contribution of social science in providing a foundation for scientific knowledge.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Association between Covid-19 sources of information, beliefs, and vaccination rates: an EU-wide survey.
    (Oxford University Press, 2023-07-14) Moreno Llamas, Antonio; Devine, Emily Beth; Cruz Sánchez, Ernesto de la; Mendiola Olivares, Jaime; García Mayor, Jesús; Torres Cantero, Alberto Manuel; Ciencias Sociosanitarias
    Background: Misinformation hampers vaccine uptake. The European Union (EU) employed a coordinated effort to curb misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, we investigated relationships between sources of information, vaccine safety/effectiveness, satisfaction with government vaccination strategy, and vaccination intent. Methods: We used cross-sectional survey data (May 2021) from Flash Eurobarometer 494, a populationadjusted dataset comprised of a representative sample of those  15 years from 27 EU nations. We employed a latent class analysis to create clusters of information sources as the independent variable and beliefs in vaccine safety/efficacy, satisfaction with government vaccination strategy, and vaccine intent as four outcome variables. We first estimated the association between source clusters and each of the first three outcomes separately. Then, using these three as intermediate variables, we employed structural equation modeling to estimate the relationship between sources and vaccine intent. We adjusted for individual and country-level variables. Results: Among 23 012 respondents, four clusters of information sources emerged: (1) national authorities/health professionals (n¼9602; 42%), (2) mostly health professionals (6184; 27%), (3) mixed (n¼1705; 17%) and (4) social media/family/ friends (n¼5524; 24%). Using cluster (3) as the referent, we found decreasing odds of beliefs in vaccine safety/effectiveness, satisfaction and vaccine intent across clusters (1), (2) and (4), respectively. Demographics played a role. Conclusion: In the context of the Covid pandemic, these results provide the first EU-wide estimates of the association between sources of information about vaccine safety/effectiveness, satisfaction and vaccine intent. The coordinated approach promulgated by the EU to minimize misinformation provides a model for managing future pandemics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Bridging disinformation and cybersecurity in the social sciences: a scoping review
    (2026) Teresa García-Alcaraz; Aguado, Juan Miguel; Ruipérez Valiente, José Antonio; Departamento de Comunicación; Departamento de Ingeniería de la Información y las Comunicaciones
    The spread of mis/disinformation, amplified and accelerated by the influence of digital technologies, along with the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, poses a growing threat that impacts both cybersecurity and wider societal stability, thereby prompting the need for broad and genuinely interdisciplinary analysis. This Scoping Review (ScR) aims to systematically map the body of literature published up to the year 2024, with a specific focus on social science research that examines mis/disinformation at its intersection with cybersecurity. Applying the PRISMA ScR methodology, a total of 64 academic papers were reviewed in order to address four central questions: (1) how core terms such as misinformation and disinformation have been defined across the literature, (2) which are the main academic topics on mis/disinformation related to cybersecurity and how these topics are interconnected in the academic discussion, (3) what theoretical frameworks or social models have been applied to address mis/disinformation in this particular context, and (4) how the relationship between mis/disinformation and cybersecurity has been established, conceptualized, and evolved over time. The findings indicate that, despite the growing frequency of these terms, few studies offer explicit definitions. Mis/disinformation is increasingly understood as a cybersecurity challenge linked to hybrid warfare and cognitive threats. Literature underlines both geopolitical and psychological dimensions, with mitigation approaches largely centred on media literacy and AI. Over time, the focus has shifted from purely technical responses toward broader ethical, legal, and societal considerations, highlighting the phenomenon’s evolving complexity. Persistent research gaps remain, guiding future directions for study.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Restricted
    Bullshit and lies? How british and spanish political leaders add to our information disorder
    (2023-11-02) Lilleker, Darren; Pérez Escolar, Marta; Comunicación; Facultad de Comunicación y Documentación
    Within what is known as the post-truth era, politicians strategically trade in alternative interpretations of data, make bold populist claims and on occasions be completely dishonest for party political gains. Such practices coincide with ever-declining trust in politicians and the democratic system, a phenomenon common to both Spain and the UK. We enquire whether public mistrust is deserved exploring the extent party leaders employ misinformation as part of their strategic communication. The paper analyses falsehoods made by political leaders as determined by major fact-checking sites EFE Verifica and Newtral in Spain, and the UK’s BBC Reality Check and Full Fact. We categorise falsehoods as misinformation, alternative facts, bullshit or lies. Results show right-wing parties most responsible for all forms of falsehoods, or they are most likely to face analysis from factcheckers. Falsehoods are used by governments defending their policies, but also by oppositions to attack the government; especially alternative facts. The overwhelming majority of policy attacks based on false information are from opposition parties, particularly Spanish parties on the right. The flagrant use of bullshit and lies, while simultaneously calling out their more mainstream opponents for similar practices, poisons the notion of democratic pluralism and makes low public trust seem perfectly justified.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Desinformación, rumor y chisme: contra-conocimiento y resistencia. Mulatos e indios ante la justicia (Siglo XVIII).
    (Asociación Española de Americanicistas, 2022) Díaz Hernández, Magdalena
    ¿Puede la desinformación, el rumor y el chisme considerarse herramientas de contraconocimiento y resistencia que expliquen múltiples conflictos ante la justicia en los mundos coloniales americanos? Esta investigación tiene como objetivo hacer una propuesta general de estudio sobre dichos conceptos y cómo abordarlos en los pleitos por tierras en México a finales del siglo XVIII. Nos centramos en un grupo de mulatos e indios que utilizaron dichas herramientas ante la justicia. Al principio compitieron y luego se unieron para conseguir formarse como pueblo, aunque un supuesto motín inventado por la parte contraria complicará parte de su proyecto político.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Plataformización, automatización y aceleración en los medios sociales
    (Universidad de Murcia. Servicio de Publicaciones, 2024) Tabarés Gutierrez, Raúl
    La etapa de la “Web 2.0” despertó numerosas ilusiones sobre el potencial de los medios sociales para renovar y extender los espacios de deliberación, discusión y emancipación política de la ciudadanía. Sin embargo, la concentración empresarial que siguió al establecimiento de unas pocas plataformas como intermediarios culturales en el espacio digital ha propiciado diferentes reacciones en contra. Este ensayo presenta los principales problemas de los medios sociales para la discusión y deliberación. En particular, el texto aborda tres factores constituyentes de los mismos: la plataformización, la automatización y la aceleración. Se argumenta que estos factores presentan grandes dificultades para el desarrollo de espacios de deliberación en la red