Fact-checking en procesos electorales y campaña permanente. Un análisis comparado entre España y Portugal

Santana Lois Poch-Butler; Roberto Gelado-Marcos; Borja Ventura-Salom; Guillermo De la Calle Velasco

doi:10.4185/rlcs-2025-2318

Authors

Santana Lois Poch-Butler Rey Juan Carlos University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2590-7795
Roberto Gelado-Marcos Universidad San Pablo CEU https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4387-5347
Borja Ventura-Salom Universidad San Pablo CEU https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5152-1357
Guillermo De la Calle Velasco Universidad San Pablo CEU https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8147-3576

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2025-2318

Keywords:

Fact-Checking, Disinformation, Fake news, Politics, Elections, Spain, Portugal

Abstract

Introduction: This research aims to study fact-checking from a double comparative perspective: on the one hand, geographical, comparing verification in Spain and Portugal; and, on the other, thematic, analyzing verification patterns —and, by extension, disinformation— in electoral and non-electoral periods. Methodology: To this end, the authors propose a study that triangulates between the statistical and discourse analysis of a study population composed of more than 2.500 fact-checkings (N=2.635) and five in-depth interviews with fact-checkers from all the fact-checking agencies integrated in the IBERIFIER hub, which is financed by the European Commission through EDMO. Results: Politics is the predominant thematic axis in the contents fact-checked in Spain (the electoral period also accentuates this trend); this is not so in Portugal. The most frequent type of fact-checked disinformation is false context and both social networks (mainly Facebook in Portugal, and Twitter/X and Facebook in Spain) and messaging platforms (WhatsApp) are the platforms from which fact-checkers most extract fact-checked content. Discussion: Similarities in discursive patterns are observed (imported narratives, recurrence of groups such as immigrants or the LGTBI community among the passive subjects of disinformation, among others). Conclusions: Electoral processes increase the vulnerability of the audiences to disinformation and can, in addition, monopolize the activity of fact-checking agencies to the point that they run out of sufficient resources to provide coverage to other areas on which they would work in a permanent campaign.

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Author Biographies

Santana Lois Poch-Butler, Rey Juan Carlos University

Master in Applied Communication Research and predoctoral researcher in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, where she has taught courses like Research Methods in Communication, Audience Research, Communication and Crisis Management, Communication and Public Opinion and Principles of Communication. She is also a member of the Comunicancer research group. Her research interests are strategic communication, crisis communication and informative disorders.

Roberto Gelado-Marcos, Universidad San Pablo CEU

Professor of Journalism and Digital Narratives at the University CEU San Pablo, with two 6-year research fellowships from ANECA CNEAI. MA Global Media from the University of East London and PhD in Communication and Knowledge Management from the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. He is the MR of the USPCEU node of the IBERIFIER hub, and previously also led the research project “Study of the conditioning factors of disinformation and proposed solutions against its impact depending on the degrees of vulnerability of the groups analyzed”, funded by Facebook and the Luca de Tena Foundation.

Borja Ventura-Salom, Universidad San Pablo CEU

PhD in Journalism from the UC3M, Master in Media Research from the URJC. Associate Professor of the Department of Journalism and Digital Narratives and the Master of Data Analysis and Dissemination of the USP-CEU. Member of the GIR ICOIDI, of the USPCEU, collaborator of the GCID Nodes, from the URJC. Member of the technical editorial board of the journal index.comunicación (Scopus Q1). He was responsible for Communication of the Secretary of State for Digitalization and AI of the Government of Spain.

Guillermo De la Calle Velasco, Universidad San Pablo CEU

Professor and researcher. He holds a doctorate in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) and a doctorate in Computer Science Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), with 2 six-year research fellowships from ANECA CNEAI. He belonged to the Biomedical Informatics Group (UPM), and he was hired to work in different national and international (European) research projects. He is author of more than 25 scientific articles. He is currently a member of the Biomedical Engineering research group BIOLAB at CEU San Pablo University.

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