Accountability Journalism During the Emergence of COVID-19: Evaluation of Transparency in Official Fact-Checking Platforms

Angel Torres-Toukoumidis, Nieves Lagares-Díez, Daniel Barredo-Ibáñez

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The emergence of COVID-19 has permeated the field of communication producing a silent crisis related to the production and dissemination of news. In this context, the platforms for the verification of facts and data, also called fact-checking, have been constituted as a solution to the misinformation generated by the pandemic, deriving a halo of transparency and veracity that is called into question in this research. These platforms have been evaluated by the first specific objective based on six dimensions: acquisition, information, verification, presentation, interaction and dissemination, and are subsequently examined according to their link to the news about coronavirus. To achieve these objectives, 72 fact-checking platforms supported by the International Fact-Checking Network were analysed. In these platforms, 936 data were obtained, driven by the indicators of each dimension, which showed an increasing trend in acquisition (88%), information (91%), verification (85%), presentation (77%) and dissemination (92%), but with limitations regarding the interaction (47%) of the verified information that moves them away from the transversal notion of digital interfaces. Likewise, concerning the situation produced by COVID-19, the lack of a different civic co-responsibility agreement, beyond the one used for the coverage of other news, is noted at a general level. In short, the following situation is presented for future research: fact-checking, entertainment in exchange for donations or democratic commitment?

Translated title of the contributionPeriodismo de rendición de cuentas durante la emergencia de Covid-19: evaluación de la transparencia en las plataformas oficiales de verificación de datos
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMarketing and Smart Technologies - Proceedings of ICMarkTech 2020
EditorsÁlvaro Rocha, Marc K. Peter, Sandra Loureiro, José Luís Reis, Ricardo Cayolla, Zorica Bogdanovic
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Pages561-572
Number of pages12
ISBN (Print)9789813341821
DOIs
StatePublished - 31 Mar 2021
EventInternational Conference on Marketing and Technologies, ICMarkTech 2020 - Lisbon, Portugal
Duration: 8 Oct 202010 Oct 2020

Publication series

NameSmart Innovation, Systems and Technologies
Volume205
ISSN (Print)2190-3018
ISSN (Electronic)2190-3026

Conference

ConferenceInternational Conference on Marketing and Technologies, ICMarkTech 2020
Country/TerritoryPortugal
CityLisbon
Period8/10/2010/10/20

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Keywords

  • Coronavirus
  • Covid-19
  • Fact-checking
  • Fake news
  • Pandemic
  • Platforms
  • Social media
  • Transparency
  • Veracity
  • Verification
  • Websites

CACES Knowledge Areas

  • 413A Social and Cultural Studies

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