scholarly journals Fakes about Coronavirus: Communicational Technologies for Constructing False Messages

Discourse ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 79-91
Author(s):  
V. V. Vasilkova ◽  
P. A. Trekin
Keyword(s):  
Communication Channel ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Information Giving ◽  
Message Source ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
False News

Introduction. Interest in the problem of false (fake) news has increased significantly in the situation of the coronavirus pandemic, when the flow of false information considered as an obstacle to the implementation of measures to combat the pandemic itself and its consequences. The authors aim to study the existing works devoted to the analysis of the construction and recognition of false news about COVID-19, paying special attention to the procedures of fact-checking-process of verifying the accuracy of the information contained in the message. The novelty of the author’s approach lies in the use of a content analysis of the fact-checking resource to identify communication technologies for constructing fake news about the coronavirus.Methodology and sources. As a theoretical framework, authors used the information model of communication by Claude Shannon, structuring communication as a process of information transmission and fixing the possibility of noise (distortion) in various parts of this process. The empirical basis of the study was a fact-checking resource that specializes in identifying fakes about the coronavirus (47 units of analysis were considered for the period from March to May 2020).Results and discussion. In the result of the research, specific communication technologies of purposeful construction of false news were identified – distortions in the communication channel, distortions in the message code (content), distortions in the message source. We also identified the types of distortions associated with the content of communication – based on the creation of false content, recoding information (giving it a new interpretation), editing the original. Different frequency of application of these technologies for a given volume of analysis units were been recorded, as well a s the predominance of the technology of distortion of the communication channel.Conclusion. The authors draw a conclusion about the importance and relevance of the topic of constructing fake news in the situation of the ongoing COVID -19 pandemic, demonstrate the productivity of using fact-checking resources to identify various communicative technologies for constructing false messages, which creates new prospects for recognizing and countering them.

Fake News

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bente Kalsnes
Keyword(s):  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Different Levels

Fake news is not new, but the American presidential election in 2016 placed the phenomenon squarely onto the international agenda. Manipulation, disinformation, falseness, rumors, conspiracy theories—actions and behaviors that are frequently associated with the term—have existed as long as humans have communicated. Nevertheless, new communication technologies have allowed for new ways to produce, distribute, and consume fake news, which makes it harder to differentiate what information to trust. Fake news has typically been studied along four lines: Characterization, creation, circulation, and countering. How to characterize fake news has been a major concern in the research literature, as the definition of the term is disputed. By differentiating between intention and facticity, researchers have attempted to study different types of false information. Creation concerns the production of fake news, often produced with either a financial, political, or social motivation. The circulation of fake news refers to the different ways false information has been disseminated and amplified, often through communication technologies such as social media and search engines. Lastly, countering fake news addresses the multitude of approaches to detect and combat fake news on different levels, from legal, financial, and technical aspects to individuals’ media and information literacy and new fact-checking services.

scholarly journals “Fake News” Is Not Simply False Information: A Concept Explication and Taxonomy of Online Content

2019 ◽  
pp. 000276421987822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D. Molina ◽  
S. Shyam Sundar ◽  
Thai Le ◽  
Dongwon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Online News ◽  
Citizen Journalism ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Online Content ◽  
False Information ◽  
Message Source ◽  
Different Types ◽  
False News ◽  
Distinguishing Features ◽  
Source Structure

As the scourge of “fake news” continues to plague our information environment, attention has turned toward devising automated solutions for detecting problematic online content. But, in order to build reliable algorithms for flagging “fake news,” we will need to go beyond broad definitions of the concept and identify distinguishing features that are specific enough for machine learning. With this objective in mind, we conducted an explication of “fake news” that, as a concept, has ballooned to include more than simply false information, with partisans weaponizing it to cast aspersions on the veracity of claims made by those who are politically opposed to them. We identify seven different types of online content under the label of “fake news” (false news, polarized content, satire, misreporting, commentary, persuasive information, and citizen journalism) and contrast them with “real news” by introducing a taxonomy of operational indicators in four domains—message, source, structure, and network—that together can help disambiguate the nature of online news content.

scholarly journals Looks Real, or Really Fake? Warnings, Visual Attention and Detection of False News Articles

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-180
Author(s):  
Bartosz W. Wojdynski ◽  
Matthew T. Binford ◽  
Brittany N. Jefferson
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Information Design ◽  
Correct Classification ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Article Type ◽  
Science News ◽  
False News

Abstract In recent years, online misinformation designed to resemble news by adopting news design conventions has proven to be a powerful vehicle for deception and persuasion. In a 2 (prior warning: present/absent) x 2 (article type: false/true) eye-tracking experiment, news consumers (N=49) viewed four science news articles from unfamiliar sources, then rated each article for credibility before being asked to classify each as true news or as false information presented as news. Results show that reminding participants about the existence of fake news significantly improved correct classification of false news articles, but did not lead to a significant increase in misclassification of true news articles as false. Analysis of eye-tracking data showed that duration of visual attention to news identifier elements, such as the headline, byline, timestamp on a page, predicted correct article classification. Implications for consumer education and information design are discussed.

scholarly journals False news around COVID-19 circulated less on Sina Weibo than on Twitter. How to overcome false information?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Pulido Rodríguez ◽  
Beatriz Villarejo Carballido ◽  
Gisela Redondo-Sama ◽  
Mengna Guo ◽  
Mimar Ramis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
World Economic Forum ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
False Information ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Sina Weibo ◽  
World Economic ◽  
False News

Since the Coronavirus health emergency was declared, many are the fake news that have circulated around this topic, including rumours, conspiracy theories and myths. According to the World Economic Forum, fake news is one of the threats in today's societies, since this type of information circulates fast and is often inaccurate and misleading. Moreover, fake-news are far more shared than evidence-based news among social media users and thus, this can potentially lead to decisions that do not consider the individual’s best interest. Drawing from this evidence, the present study aims at comparing the type of Tweets and Sina Weibo posts regarding COVID-19 that contain either false or scientific veracious information. To that end 1923 messages from each social media were retrieved, classified and compared. Results show that there is more false news published and shared on Twitter than in Sina Weibo, at the same time science-based evidence is more shared on Twitter than in Weibo but less than false news. This stresses the need to find effective practices to limit the circulation of false information.

scholarly journals Right to be Wrong: Examining the (Im) possibilities of Regulating Fake News while Preserving the Freedom of Expression in Kenya

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-46
Author(s):  
Abdulmalik Sugow
Keyword(s):  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Peer Networks ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Peer To Peer Networks ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Intermediary Liability ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Legislative Measures

With the proliferation of peer-to-peer networks as a source of information, concerns on the accuracy of information shared have been raised, necessitating attempts by governments to regulate fake news. Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, for instance, criminalises the intentional dissemination of false or misleading data. However, such regulation has resulted in a different set of concerns, particularly its potential to bring about undue limitation on the freedom of expression. In appraising the approach taken in Kenya of imposing liability on perpetrators, and that taken in some jurisdictions of imposing intermediary liability, the article posits that similar difficulties are faced in regulating fake news – the freedom of expression could be curtailed. This is fuelled by ambiguity in the definition of ‘fake news’. Consequently, this article seeks to find out if indeed, it is possible to regulate fake news while preserving the freedom of expression in Kenya. Further, the article delves into some of the effects the proliferation of fake news has had on the democratic process in Kenya, thereby requiring regulation. In doing so, it tackles fake news from two general conceptions: fake news as calculated disinformation campaigns by individuals for certain purposes, and fake news as an overarching culture of misinformation that enables the spread of false information. Regarding the former, it finds that legislative measures may prove sufficient. However, the latter requires a combination of non-legislative measures such as collaborative measure, awareness initiatives and fact-checking.

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.

scholarly journals COVID-19 fake news diffusion across Latin America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson Ceron ◽  
Gabriela Gruszynski Sanseverino ◽  
Mathias-Felipe de-Lima-Santos ◽  
Marcos G. Quiles
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
National Level ◽  
Application Programming Interface ◽  
Computational Method ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Fact Checking

Abstract Fact-checking verifies a multitude of claims and remains a promising solution to fight fake news. The spread of rumors, hoaxes, and conspiracy theories online is evident in times of crisis, when fake news ramped up across platforms, increasing fear and confusion amongst the population as seen in the COVID-19 pandemic. This article explores fact-checking initiatives in Latin America, using an original Markov-based computational method to cluster topics on tweets and identify their diffusion between different datasets. Drawing on a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods, including time-series analysis, network analysis and in-depth close reading, our article proposes an in-depth tracing of COVID-related false information across the region, comparing if there is a pattern of behavior through the countries. We rely on the open Twitter application programming interface (API) connection to gather data from public accounts of the six major fact-checking agencies in Latin America, namely: Argentina ( Chequeado ), Brazil ( Agência Lupa ), Chile ( Mala Espina Check ), Colombia ( Colombia Check from Consejo de Redacción ), Mexico ( El Sabueso from Animal Político ) and Venezuela ( Efecto Cocuyo ). In total, these profiles account for 102,379 tweets that were collected between January and July 2020. Our study offers insights into the dynamics of online information dissemination beyond the national level and demonstrates how politics intertwine with the health crisis in this period. Our method is capable of clustering topics in a period of overabundance of information, as we fight not only a pandemic but also an infodemic, evidentiating opportunities to understand and slow the spread of false information.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in Tackling Fake News: Different Degrees of Concern, but Same Problems

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-238
Author(s):  
Ester Almenar ◽  
Sue Aran-Ramspott ◽  
Jaume Suau ◽  
Pere Masip
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Spanish Population ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
False Information ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Ecosystem ◽  
False News

In the current media ecosystem, in which the traditional media coexists with new players who are able to produce information and spread it widely, there is growing concern about the increasing prominence of fake news. Despite some significant efforts to determine the effects of misinformation, the results are so far inconclusive. Previous research has sought to analyze how the public perceive the effects of disinformation. This article is set in this context, and its main objective is to investigate users’ perception of fake news, as well as identify the criteria on which their recognition strategies are based. The research pays particular attention to determining whether there are gender differences in the concern about the effects of fake news, the degree of difficulty in detecting fake news and the most common topics it covers. The results are based on the analysis of a representative survey of the Spanish population (N = 1,001) where participants were asked about their relationship with fake news and their competence in determining the veracity of the information, and their ability to identify false content were assessed. The findings show that men and women’s perception of difficulty in identifying fake news is similar, while women are more concerned than men about the pernicious effects of misinformation on society. Gender differences are also found in the topics of the false information received. A greater proportion of men receive false news on political issues, while women tend to more frequently receive fake news about celebrities.

scholarly journals JOURNALISM AND FACT-CHECKING: typification of sources used for checking and criteria for selecting fact-checked material – an analysis by Agência Lupa and Aos Fatos

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 368-393
Author(s):  
Daniel De Rezende Damasceno ◽  
Edgard Patrício
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Behavioral Approach ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
False Information ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Political Agents ◽  
Official Sources

Fact-checking was initially used to verify the factuality of information given by political agents. However, the proliferation of false information on social networks and concerns about the political use of spreading lies have led to fact-checking methodologies also being used to combat fake news. In terms of a cognitive and behavioral approach, Lazer et al. (2018) suggest there are some doubts as to how effective this methodology is. This article analyzes the performance of two Brazilian checking agencies, Aos Fatos and Agência Lupa. We demonstrate that, although checking discourse is directly related to the credibility of organizations, the agencies themselves do not lay out the criteria for selecting what is to be checked. The platforms that use this form of fact-checking mainly rely on data and studies provided by official sources and public institutions, once again compromising the credibility of the process.A prática de fact-checking foi iniciada para verificar a factualidade das informações nos discursos de agentes políticos. Mas a proliferação de informações falsas nas redes sociais da internet, e a preocupação com a disseminação de mentiras como instrumento político, fez com que as metodologias de fact-checking também fossem utilizadas para combater fake news. Levando em consideração uma abordagem cognitiva e comportamental, Lazer et al. (2018) alertam que existem dúvidas quanto à eficácia dessa utilização. Esse artigo analisa a atuação de duas agências brasileiras de checagem, Aos Fatos e Agência Lupa. Demonstramos que, apesar da checagem de discursos ter relação direta com a credibilidade das organizações, as próprias agências não explicitam os critérios que orientam a seleção do que é checado. E que nessa modalidade de checagem, as plataformas de fact-checking se valem, sobretudo, de dados e estudos fornecidos por fontes oficiais e instituições públicas, comprometendo mais uma vez a credibilidade do processo.La práctica de fact-checking inició para verificar la factualidad de las informaciones en los discursos de agentes políticos. Pero la proliferación de informaciones falsas en las redes sociales de internet, y la preocupación por la diseminación de mentiras como instrumento político, hizo que las metodologías de fact-checking también fueran utilizadas para combatir las fake news. Teniendo en cuenta un enfoque cognitivo y conductual, Lazer et al. (2018) advierten que existen dudas sobre la eficacia de esta utilización. Este artículo analiza la actuación de dos agencias brasileñas de chequeo, Aos Fatos y Agência Lupa. Demostramos que, aunque la verificación del discurso tiene una relación directa con la credibilidad de las organizaciones, las agencias mismas no detallan los criterios que guían la selección de lo que se verifica. Y que en este modo de verificación, las plataformas de verificación de hechos se basan principalmente en datos y estudios proporcionados por fuentes oficiales e instituciones públicas, comprometiendo una vez más la credibilidad del proceso.

scholarly journals Verification initiatives in the scenario of misinformation. Actants for integrated plans with multi-level strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 614-635
Author(s):  
Xosé López-García ◽  
Ángel Vizoso ◽  
Sara Pérez-Seijo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Standard Practice ◽  
European Institutions ◽  
The Media ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
National Governments

The spread of misinformation has become standard practice in today’s communicative scene. Both individual users and organizations disseminate false content for economic or political benefits. The response against these strategies has been to develop initiatives to both verify false information as well as prevent it from being spread. This article presents actions adopted by different actors to stop the spread of fake news. These actors are European institutions, national governments, the media, and major technology companies. Thus, this paper takes a comprehensive look at how misinformation is addressed in the European Union by studying reports and legislative texts and reviewing the growth of fact-checking initiatives.A disseminação da desinformação se tornou uma prática muito comum no atual cenário comunicativo. Utilizadores individuais e organizações disseminam conteúdo falso para obter benefício econômico ou político. A resposta contra essas estratégias tem sido o desenvolvimento de iniciativas cujo objetivo é tanto a verificação de informações falsas quanto a prevenção da sua disseminação. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar as ações tomadas por diferentes atores com a capacidade de impedir a disseminação de notícias falsas: instituições europeias e governos nacionais, os media e as principais empresas tecnológicas. Assim, através do estudo de relatórios e textos legislativos ou a revisão do crescimento das iniciativas de fact-checking, os autores desenharão uma panorâmica sobre como a desinformação é abordada na União Europeia.La propagación de desinformación se ha convertido en una práctica muy frecuente en el escenario comunicativo actual. Usuarios individuales y organizaciones hacen uso de la difusión de contenidos falsos para obtener rendimiento económico o político. La reacción frente a este tipo de estrategias no se ha hecho esperar de forma pareciendo iniciativas dirigidas tanto a la verificación de las informaciones falsas como a evitar su publicación. El objetivo del presente artículo es dar cuenta de las acciones adoptadas por los diferentes actores con capacidad para frenar la difusión de fake news: las instituciones europeas y los gobiernos nacionales, el periodismo y las principales empresas tecnológicas. A partir del estudio de diferentes informes y textos legislativos, así como de las herramientas diseñadas por las empresas tecnológicas o la revisión del crecimiento de iniciativas de fact-checking se dibuja una panorámica general de cómo se intenta combatir la desinformación en el marco de la Unión Europea.

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