scholarly journals The agenda of disinformation: "fake news" and membership categorization analysis in the 2018 Brazilian presidential elections

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 474-495
Author(s):  
Mônica Chaves ◽  
Adriana Braga
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
Membership Categorization Analysis ◽  
Membership Categorization ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Do So

One of the main aspects of public debate in Brazil in the period that preceded the 2018 presidential elections was the dissemination of false stories via social media and messaging apps. Disinformation, misinformation, and mal-information – phenomena that comprehend elements such as wrongful, out of context, distorted and fabricated information, among others – were a major concern in the election, highlighted by the number of false stories debunked by independent fact-checkers. In the 20-day period between the two rounds of the presidential election, six fact-checking websites posted 228 verifications of false stories disseminated on social media and/or messaging apps, covering a range of about 132 different topics. This article aims to analyze the categorizations enunciated in their discourses. In order to do so, the methodological perspective utilized was the Membership Categorization Analysis, affiliated with the tradition of Ethnomethodology.A disseminação de histórias falsas em aplicativos de mensagens e redes sociais da internet foi um dos elementos centrais da conversação civil no Brasil no período que antecedeu as eleições presidenciais brasileiras em 2018. A preocupação com a disseminação da desinformação – fenômeno que se compõe, entre outros elementos, por informações erradas, descontextualizadas, distorcidas ou falsificadas – se refletiu na quantidade de histórias falsas verificadas e desmentidas por agências independentes de checagens de fatos. No período de 20 dias entre as votações de primeiro e segundo turnos das eleições, as seis principais agências do país publicaram 228 verificações de histórias falsas disseminadas em redes sociais da internet ou aplicativos de troca mensagens, referentes a 132 diferentes pautas. Neste estudo foram analisadas as categorizações enunciadas nos discursos dessas histórias falsas, com a utilização da Análise de Categorização de Pertencimento (ACP), ferramenta teórico-metodológica de origem na Etnometodologia.La propagación de historias falsas en servicios de mensajería instantánea y redes sociales de Internet fue uno de los elementos centrales de las conversaciones civiles en Brasil durante el periodo previo a las elecciones presidenciales brasileñas en 2018. La preocupación con la diseminación de la desinformación – fenómeno compuesto por informaciones erróneas, descontextualizadas, distorsionadas o falsificadas, entre otros elementos – fue visible en la cantidad de historias falsas verificadas y refutadas por organizaciones de fact-checking. En el período de 20 días entre las votaciones de la primera y segunda vuelta de las elecciones, las seis principales fact-checkers del país publicaron 228 verificaciones de historias falsas difundidas en redes sociales de internet o servicios de mensajería instantánea, relativas a 132 pautas diferentes. Este artículo trata de analizar las categorizaciones enunciadas en los discursos de esas historias falsas con el auxilio del Análisis de Pertenencia Categorial (Membership Categorization Analysis – MCA), herramienta teórico-metodológica que proviene de la Etnometodología.

Media Literacy and Fake News

2019 ◽  
pp. 163-176
Author(s):  
Tracy Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Knowing How ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fact Checking

“Fake news” isn't a new phenomenon, but it began trending in 2016 during a contentious presidential election. Particularly with the rise of social media, people saw the dangerous impact this movement had, and continues to have on society. People easily bought into false stories, shared them online and even acted on them. Because of this, the importance of fact checking and analysis has surged, and the responsibility falls on both news consumers and practitioners. Additionally, the term fake news has been used repeatedly to inaccurately label news that people do not agree with or do not like. By learning to identify the differences between truth, satire, falsity, dislike, error, and learning why fake news has gone viral, individuals can enhance their media literacy skills. This will in turn improve the media landscape because news consumers will be required to become proficient in knowing how to produce, interpret, and share news in an ethical and honest way.

Media Literacy and Fake News

2018 ◽  
pp. 255-268
Author(s):  
Tracy Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Knowing How ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fact Checking

“Fake news” isn't a new phenomenon, but it began trending in 2016 during a contentious presidential election. Particularly with the rise of social media, people saw the dangerous impact this movement had, and continues to have on society. People easily bought into false stories, shared them online and even acted on them. Because of this, the importance of fact checking and analysis has surged, and the responsibility falls on both news consumers and practitioners. Additionally, the term fake news has been used repeatedly to inaccurately label news that people do not agree with or do not like. By learning to identify the differences between truth, satire, falsity, dislike, error, and learning why fake news has gone viral, individuals can enhance their media literacy skills. This will in turn improve the media landscape because news consumers will be required to become proficient in knowing how to produce, interpret, and share news in an ethical and honest way.

Fake It “Till You Make It”: Debunking Fake News in a Post-Truth America

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-133
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
First Amendment ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
American People ◽  
Fake News ◽  
News Sources ◽  
The Media ◽  
The U.S

Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, attacks on the media have been relentless. “Fake news” has become a household term, and repeated attempts to break the trust between reporters and the American people have threatened the validity of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In this article, the authors trace the development of fake news and its impact on contemporary political discourse. They also outline cutting-edge pedagogies designed to assist students in critically evaluating the veracity of various news sources and social media sites.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Fake Narratives on Social Media during 2019 Indonesian Presidential Election

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-368
Author(s):  
Vience Mutiara Rumata ◽  
◽  
Fajar Kuala Nugraha ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Radical Group ◽  
Time Frames ◽  
Election Studies

Social media become a public sphere for political discussion in the world, with no exception in Indonesia. Social media have broadened public engagement but at the same time, it creates an inevitable effect of polarization particularly during the heightened political situation such as a presidential election. Studies found that there is a correlation between fake news and political polarization. In this paper, we identify and the pattern of fake narratives in Indonesia in three different time frames: (1) the Presidential campaign (23 September 2018 -13 April 2019); (2) the vote (14-17 April 2019); (3) the announcement (21-22 May 2019). We extracted and analyzed a data-set consisting of 806,742 Twitter messages, 143 Facebook posts, and 16,082 Instagram posts. We classified 43 fake narratives where Twitter was the most used platform to distribute fake narratives massively. The accusation of Muslim radical group behind Prabowo and Communist accusation towards the incumbent President Joko Widodo were the two top fake narratives during the campaign on Twitter and Facebook. The distribution of fake narratives to Prabowo was larger than that to Joko Widodo on those three platforms in this period. On the contrary, the distribution of fake narratives to Joko Widodo was significantly larger than that to Prabowo during the election and the announcement periods. The death threat of Joko Widodo was top fake narratives on these three platforms. Keywords: Fake narratives, Indonesian presidential election, social media, political polarization, post.

scholarly journals Electoral Disinformation: Looking Through the Lens of Tsek.ph Fact Checks

Plaridel ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-295
Author(s):  
Yvonne Chua ◽  
Jake Soriano
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fact Checking

Elections are fertile ground for disinformation. The 2019 midterm elections, like the 2016 presidential election, buttress this observation. This ugly side of electoral contests is documented by Tsek.ph, a pioneering collaborative fact-checking initiative launched by three universities and eleven newsrooms specifically for the midterms. Its repository of fact checks provides valuable insights into the nature of electoral disinformation before, during and after the elections. Clearly, electoral disinformation emanates from candidates and supporters alike, on conventional (e.g., speeches and sorties) and digital (e.g., social media) platforms. Its wide range of victims includes the media no less.

Nature of Tweets in the 2015 Nigerian Presidential Elections

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nwachukwu Andrew Egbunike ◽  
Noel Ihebuzor ◽  
Ngozi Onyechi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Political Mobilization ◽  
Election Results

Social media is becoming increasingly important as a means for social engagement. In Nigeria, Twitter is employed to convey opinion and make commentary on matters ranging from football to politics. Tweets are also used to inform, advocate, recruit and even incite. Previous studies have shown that Twitter could be effective for political mobilization. However, there is dearth of research on how Twitter has been used as a purveyor of neutral and/or hate speech in the Nigerian context. This study examined the nature of tweets in the immediate aftermath of the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria. The authors employed content analysis of 250 purposively selected tweets from the #Igbo hashtag which trended between March 29 and 31, 2015. The tweets were then categorized into five explicit hate and one neutral tweet category respectively. Results revealed the dominance of three hate tweet types: derogatory, mocking and blaming. These findings were then discussed bearing in mind earlier theories on the functionality of tweets and voting patterns from an analysis of the election results.

scholarly journals Plataformas fact-checking: las fakes news desmentidas por Newtral en la crisis del coronavirus en España

2020 ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Yaiza Pozo-Montes ◽  
Marina León-Manovel
Keyword(s):  
Fake News ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Estudio De Caso

Introducción: El fact-checking, o la verificación de datos, se ha convertido en una práctica periodística cada vez más en boga. Sin duda, una herramienta que ha demostrado ser necesaria para desmentir las fake news que circulan por las redes sociales, tal y como ha sucedido en el caso concreto de la crisis sanitaria del coronavirus. Objetivos: Analizar las características de las noticias falsas desmentidas por Newtral Media Audiovisual y determinar su tendencia durante las sucesivas prórrogas del Estado de Alarma. Metodología: Se han examinado 104 informaciones que hacen referencia al COVID-19 en España, desde el 14 de marzo hasta el 4 de mayo de 2020, mediante el análisis cuantitativo y cualitativo del estudio de caso. Resultados: Todas las fake news han convergido en diferentes redes sociales, pero el canal principal para su difusión ha sido WhatsApp, siendo el texto y el audio los formatos que han presentado una mayor manipulación. La temática predominante de los bulos ha sido la política y las falsas atribuciones a instituciones han logrado engañar a la ciudadanía. Conclusiones: El fact-checking constata su éxito para desmentir las falsedades mediante el uso de datos. Se trata de un fenómeno actual que requiere ser investigado en diversos campos académicos.

scholarly journals Social Media and Fake News in the Post-Truth Era: The Manipulation of Politics in the Election Process

2020 ◽  
pp. 177-196
Author(s):  
Turgay Yerlikaya ◽  
Seca Toker
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Election Process ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Positive Effect

This article focuses on how virtual social networks affect socio-political life. The main theme of the article is how social networks such as Facebook and Twitter can direct voters’ electoral preferences, especially during election time, through the dissemination of manipulative content and fake news. The use of social media, which was initially thought to have a positive effect on democratization, has been extensively discussed in recent years as threat to democracy. Examples from the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, France, Brexit, Germany, the UK and Turkey will be used to illustrate the risks that social networks pose to democracy, especially during election periods.

scholarly journals Social media usage by President Donald Trump before and after the 2016 elections

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Glueckstern ◽  
Alexi Benyacar ◽  
Sacha Grigri
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Media Use ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Media

According to Gill (2017), the present era of electronic revolution is one in which social media has become a means to an end in political sphere communication. Today, political marketing and advertising for persons seeking elective posts analyze, develop, execute and manage campaigns as a way of driving public opinion (Laing & Khattab, 2016). Social media provides a platform on which one can engage with the so-called connected generation. If the November 2016 elections are anything to go by, Twitter proved to be the medium of choice for citizens to engage and consume political content (Le et al., 2017). Ideally, tweets formed the basis of facilitating user engagement through the provision of content and newsbreaks. By extension, the mentioned discussions would influence the political discourse while establishing the capacity to determine the events of mainstream media. This study seeks to establish social media usage by President Donald Trump before and after his election. An understanding of such trend is essential in inferring as to whether Social media, in this case Twitter, plays a role in the current political spheres by promoting influence of a given aspirant. This stems from various studies that have stated that there is an association between social media use and an aspirant’s influence of the connected generation who are especially the youths. For instance, a thesis by Hwang (2016) observed that President Trump’s Twitter usage contributes to his political poll success which he associates with a reflection of his personality in the media use. This was also observed by Lilleker, Jackson, Thorsen and Veneti (2016) who stated that President Trump’s media use contributed to his election. It would hence be essential to understand President Trump’s nature of usage of Twitter. Allcott and Gentzkow (2017) conducted a study in which they observed use of fake news to influence people into certain political alignments. Twitter was also observed as one of the channels through which fake news was distributed. This study might help to create a foundation under which more studies can be done to determine the association of social media with other issues facing the society such as fake news and environment issues and their role on presidential elections. It would also be worth noting that there has been high politicization of President Trump’s use of Twitter especially during his Campaigns. This study would hence help to infer whether there is a change in this factor after his election.

scholarly journals Intentional or inadvertent fake news sharing? Fact-checking warnings and users’ interaction with social media content

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Ardèvol-Abreu ◽  
Patricia Delponti ◽  
Carmen Rodríguez-Wangüemert
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
False News ◽  
News Sharing

The main social media platforms have been implementing strategies to minimize fake news dissemination. These include identifying, labeling, and penalizing –via news feed ranking algorithms– fake publications. Part of the rationale behind this approach is that the negative effects of fake content arise only when social media users are deceived. Once debunked, fake posts and news stories should therefore become harmless. Unfortunately, the literature shows that the effects of misinformation are more complex and tend to persist and even backfire after correction. Furthermore, we still do not know much about how social media users evaluate content that has been fact-checked and flagged as false. More worryingly, previous findings suggest that some people may intentionally share made up news on social media, although their motivations are not fully explained. To better understand users’ interaction with social media content identified or recognized as false, we analyze qualitative and quantitative data from five focus groups and a sub-national online survey (N = 350). Findings suggest that the label of ‘false news’ plays a role –although not necessarily central– in social media users’ evaluation of the content and their decision (not) to share it. Some participants showed distrust in fact-checkers and lack of knowledge about the fact-checking process. We also found that fake news sharing is a two-dimensional phenomenon that includes intentional and unintentional behaviors. We discuss some of the reasons why some of social media users may choose to distribute fake news content intentionally.

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