Transparencia en YouTube para la comunicación del riesgo del radón

José Sixto-García; Berta García-Orosa; Eladio González-Lois; Noel Pascual-Presa

doi:10.4185/rlcs-2025-2266

Authors

José Sixto-García University of Santiago de Compostela https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2988-0975
Berta García-Orosa Universidade de Santiago de Compostela https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6126-7401
Eladio González-Lois Universidade de Santiago de Compostela https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6366-618X
Noel Pascual-Presa Universidade de Santiago de Compostela https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9091-7631

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2025-2266

Keywords:

radon, YouTube, risk, public health, risk communication, echo chambers, social media

Abstract

Introduction: Scientific evidence has proven the link between exposure to radon in indoor environments and lung cancer. For this reason, radon gas is considered a threat to public health. Additionally, YouTube has also been confirmed as a source of medical information. Methodology: This research examines YouTube as a vehicle for the global dissemination of information about radon. All the channels that contain videos on this gas are identified alongside the geographical areas in which they operate, the language they use to broadcast, the number of subscribers they have, and the number of views they amass. Using a sample of channels specifically focused on radon, the presence of this topic on YouTube is examined using a methodological model that explores themes, narratives and dissemination strategies. Results: The results reveal the absence of echo chambers and the lack of awareness on this social network regarding the public health issues surrounding radon gas. Discussion and Conclusions: The study highlights the limited presence of radon-related videos on YouTube, with a predominance of content in English, restricting accessibility in non-English-speaking regions. Radon channels underutilize YouTube features and lack community engagement, revealing a significant gap in recognizing radon as a public health issue on the platform. Successful channels demonstrate good practices, but overall awareness remains insufficient.

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Author Biographies

José Sixto-García, University of Santiago de Compostela

Professor of Journalism at the Department of Communication Sciences of the University of Santiago de Compostela. PhD in Communication and Journalism, he was the director of Social Media Institute (2013-2019) and his research is focused on new media, new narratives and social networks. He belongs to the research group Novos Medios (New Media) [GI-1641 NM]. His publications include books such us Digital Marketing Fundamentals or Professional management of social networks, published in prestigious editorials, and articles like ‘Co-creation in North American and European digital native media: Web, social networks and offline spaces’ published in Journalism, or ‘News Sharing Using Self-destructive Content in Digital Native Media from an International Perspective’ published in Journalism Practice.

Berta García-Orosa, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Berta García-Orosa holds a BA in Communication Sciences, a BA in Political and Administration Sciences, and a PhD in Communication Sciences from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She is a Professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela and has studied communication and politics for more than 20 years. She has collaborated in more than 50 research projects and international research networks, the results of which have been published over 100 times in databases such as Scopus and JCR and publishing houses such as Springer, McGraw Hill, and Thomson. She has completed visiting research and training stays in Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Cuba, and Uruguay. Spain’s Ministry of Education awarded her three 6-year research terms.

Eladio González-Lois, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Graduate in Journalism from the University of Santiago de Compostela. Creator and director of his own online radio station and researcher for the Novos Medios (New Media) [GI-1641 NM] group. Currently, he is part of the research team of the project Radon in Spain: Perception of public opinion, media agenda and risk communication. (RAPAC) and a scholarship holder of the Department of Communication Sciences.

Noel Pascual-Presa , Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Noel Pascual-Presa is a Ph.D. student in Communication at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communication and a Master's Degree in Journalism and Communication: New Trends in Production, Management, and Dissemination of Knowledge, both from the same university. He is a member of the research group Novos Medios (New Media). His research interests encompass health communication, risk communication, misinformation, and the application of computational methods, big data, and artificial intelligence to the study of health information.

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