Desinformación, vacunas y Covid-19. Análisis de la infodemia y la conversación digital en Twitter

Ainara Larrondo-Ureta; Simón-Peña  Fernández; Jordi  Morales-i-Gras

doi:10.4185/RLCS-2021-1504

Authors

Ainara Larrondo-Ureta University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3303-4330
Simón-Peña Fernández University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2080-3241
Jordi Morales-i-Gras University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4173-3609

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2021-1504

Keywords:

Disinformation, vaccines, Covid-19, social media, Twitter, infodemic.

Abstract

Introduction: The debate on the Covid-19 vaccines has been very present on social networks since the very beginning of the health crisis, in a context of infodemics in which the presence of all kinds of information has been a breeding ground for misinformation or false news. Methodology: In this context, this article seeks to measure and characterise the conversation about Covid-19 vaccines on the social network Twitter. To this end, 62,045 tweets and 258,843 retweets from supporters and opponents of the vaccine were analysed between December 2020 and February 2021. Results: The start of the vaccination campaign was the turning point at which pro-vaccine discourse began to take precedence over anti-vaccine discourse. Antivaccine groups are characterised by being strongly cohesive clusters, with an appreciable level of activity, but with less capacity to viralise content. Conclusions and discussion: Anti-vaccine discourses tend to rely on alternative media or content shared on social networks, which corroborates that quality information is one of the main measures against disinformation. It also highlights the role of quality or legacy media and the desirability of further developing anti-disinformation policies specific to the type of digital conversation taking place on Twitter.

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Author Biographies

Ainara Larrondo-Ureta, University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

Department of Journalism. Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication. University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. Doctor in Journalism, Master in Contemporary History. Trilingual University Professor (bas, spa, eng) in subjects on Journalistic Writing and Digital Communication. She directs ‘Gureiker’, Consolidated Group of the Basque University System (IT1112-16, A) (2016/2021). She is the MR of three UPV/EHU projects, two of them linked to Educational Innovation, and a research member of more than a dozen projects financed by the State Research Agency (AEI), the Basque Government, and other public bodies. Visiting Researcher at the University of Glasgow, she has taught at European universities in Italy, Holland, and Portugal (PAP Erasmus Program). She is the author of numerous impact articles (JCR, Scopus, FECYT) and other publications. In the field of academic management, she has developed, among others, tasks as Vice Dean of Infrastructures (2015/2021).

Simón-Peña Fernández, University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

Department of Journalism. Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication. University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. Doctor in Journalism. Trilingual associate professor (bas, spa, eng). His main lines of research are cyberjournalism, Internet communication, and social innovation. He has published fifty articles in academic journals, always associated with continued participation in about twenty research projects funded in competitive public calls, among them, seven European projects (Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+) and three National Plan projects, among others. . He is the co-main researcher of the consolidated group Gureiker.

Jordi Morales-i-Gras, University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication. University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. CEO Network Outsight. Doctor in Sociology from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). His area of specialization is Computational Social Science, with a strong emphasis on Social Network Analysis and Artificial Intelligence. He collaborates as a teacher in the Master of Models and Areas of Social Research of the UPV/EHU, in the Master of Social Media of the UOC, and the Postgraduate degree in Data Analytics of the College of Professionals in Political Science and Sociology of Catalonia. He is also the founder and CEO of Network Outsight, a consulting firm specializing in the sociological analysis of Big Data.

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