Abstract

RODRIGUEZ-HIDALGO, Claudia; HERRERO, Javier  and  AGUADED-GOMEZ, Ignacio. Journalistic verification against lies in the electoral processes of Ecuador and Spain. Universitas [online]. 2021, n.34, pp.41-62. ISSN 1390-8634.  https://doi.org/10.17163/uni.n34.2021.02.

Fact-checking is key in the framework of electoral processes, political discourse has never been so exposed as it is today to public scrutiny and the possibility of being denied live and in a massive way. This research focuses on the fact-checking projects in Ecuador and Spain, and their role in the elections of both countries in March and April 2019, respectively.

The most relevant publications from both projects on Twitter were analyzed, the aim was to identify the main rumors that were spread and subject to verification, as well as the politicians about whom the most rumors were spread.

The most relevant results it is evident that the immigration issue and false declarations by candidates were the main topics of the fake news in both countries, and that the lies about certain candidates did not decisively affect the results of the elections. Similarly, it was evident that there is a marked inequality in the dissemination of verified information in both countries, since these do not reflect the same intensity in terms of the production of denials, as well as the dissemination of these.

Keywords : Journalism; information; internet; communication; social media; political campaign.

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