Unraveling disinformation: Notions and discourses from the Spanish population

Valera-Ordaz, Lidia, Requena-i-Mora, Marina, Calvo, Dafne and López-García, Guillermo Unraveling disinformation: Notions and discourses from the Spanish population. Comunicar, 2022, vol. 30, n. 72, pp. 21-32. [Journal article (Paginated)]

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English abstract

Disinformation has become a core concept in communications research, related to media, technological and political phenomena that complexify its definition and diagnosis. Although its approach has been mainly quantitative, focus groups have also been used to understand the perception of the audience of this particular issue. This research is part of this second group of studies, and attempts to investigate the notions and discourses on disinformation in the case of Spain. For this purpose, seven discussion groups were conducted, with a structural sample constructed according to employment situation, ideology and age. The results show a perception of the communicative ecosystem structured in two chronological poles, which contrasts a past of reduced information supply – associated with traditional media – with a current informational environment where there is more media diversity, but also less trust in them. The groups point to the overabundance of information and associated disinformation with decontextualisation, low-quality journalism and the economic and political interests of different actors. Discourses outline a scenario of decline in journalism and the public sphere, which is perceived as polarised and emotional. Disinformation is therefore perceived as a multidimensional phenomenon that is associated with issues of major democratic transcendence rather than merely sending hoaxes through the Internet.

Spanish abstract

La desinformación se ha convertido en un concepto central en las investigaciones en comunicación, relacionado con diversos fenómenos mediáticos, tecnológicos y políticos que complejizan su definición y diagnóstico. Si bien su abordaje ha sido eminentemente cuantitativo, los grupos de discusión han sido también empleados para conocer la percepción de la audiencia sobre este fenómeno. Esta investigación se sitúa en esta estela, para tratar de indagar en las nociones y discursos que existen sobre la desinformación en el caso español. Para ello, se realizan siete grupos de discusión, con una muestra estructural construida según la situación laboral, la ideología y la edad. Los resultados muestran una percepción del ecosistema comunicativo estructurada en dos polos cronológicos, que contrapone un pasado de menor oferta informativa, asociado con los medios de comunicación tradicionales, a un entorno informacional actual donde existe más diversidad mediática, pero también menos confianza en los medios. Los grupos señalan la sobreabundancia de información, y vinculan la desinformación con la descontextualización, el periodismo de baja calidad y los intereses económicos y políticos de diversos actores. Los discursos delinean un panorama de declive del periodismo y de la esfera pública, que se percibe como polarizada y emocional. La desinformación se percibe, por lo tanto, como un fenómeno multidimensional que se asocia a cuestiones de mayor trascendencia democrática que el envío de bulos a través de Internet.

Item type: Journal article (Paginated)
Keywords: Disinformation; communicative ecosystem; focus groups; discourse analysis; media; social media; Desinformación; ecosistema comunicativo; grupos de discusión; análisis del discurso; medios de comunicación; redes sociales
Subjects: B. Information use and sociology of information > BJ. Communication
G. Industry, profession and education.
G. Industry, profession and education. > GH. Education.
Depositing user: Alex Ruiz
Date deposited: 28 Jul 2022 14:42
Last modified: 28 Jul 2022 14:42
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/43426

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