Disinformation poses a challenge for democracies, especially in exceptional periods such as electoral processes but, above all, as a consequence of a global health crisis with no clear end date. The objective of this research is to analyse the type of hoaxes identified during the COVID-19 pandemic in southern European countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece). To this effect, 936 pieces of disinformation reported by the main verification organizations in those countries were examined between February and August 2020: Observador and Polígrafo (Portugal), Newtral, Maldita and EFE verifica (Spain) Facta, Open, Effecinque and Pagella Politica (Italy) and Ellinika Hoaxes (Greece). As a final conclusion, the presence or absence of a common pattern in the four countries is examined based on the topic of the hoaxes, their distribution channels and how viral they spread abroad. Two axes of disinformation were established: one health-preventive and the other in terms of political polarization.
INFORMATION VERIFICATION DURING COVID-19. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS IN SOUTHERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
Raúl Magallón Rosa works as a professor of journalism in the Department of Communication of Carlos III University of Madrid (Spain). He has a degree in Journalism and a Ph.D. with a European component from Complutense University of Madrid. His research strand focuses on the relationship between disinformation and fact-checking. He is the author of "Unfaking News. How to fight disinformation" (also published in Portuguese) and "Disinformation and pandemic. The new reality". (Unfaking News. Cómo combatir la desinformación" and "Desinformación y pandemia. La nueva realidad").
He has a degree in Sociology from the University of Salamanca,
a Ph.D. in Communication from the Rey Juan Carlos University, and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences (political specialty) from the Pontificia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. He is a Professor of Political Communication at Rey Juan Carlos University (Spain) and Deputy Secretary General of the Menéndez Pelayo International University.
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Magallón-Rosa, Raúl; Sánchez-Duarte, José Manuel. Information verification during COVID-19. Comparative analysis in Southern European Countries. Thematic dossier International Relations and Social Networks, July 2021. Consulted [online] on date of last visit, https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.DT21.10
Article received on 30 December, 2020 and accepted for publication on 19 March, 2021