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Abstract(s)
A pandemia da COVID-19 impulsionou a produção e a circulação de informação falsa, sobretudo nos meios digitais, levando a que a Organização Mundial de Saúde classificasse este fenómeno com uma infodemia, ou seja, uma pandemia da desinformação. Neste contexto, a propagação de informação falsa relativa ao coronavírus amplificou e potenciou os riscos para a saúde pública, vivência em sociedade e bem-estar psicológico dos indivíduos, pelo que releva estudar os determinantes que conduzem à sua ampliação. Considerando o contacto crescente com notícias falsas e os perigos associados a este problema, o grande objetivo desta investigação consiste em avaliar a influência de seis determinantes fundamentais na capacidade para identificar notícias e informação falsa: a religiosidade, a literacia em saúde, o consumo de media, a confiança nas fontes de informação, a confiança pública e a consciência da existência de verificadores de factos, salientando diferenças geracionais. Recorrendo a uma metodologia quantitativa, baseada num processo hipotético-dedutivo, suportado por inquérito por questionário autoadministrado online, estudamos estas influências numa amostra de 305 participantes. Os resultados evidenciam que a maior parte dos inquiridos não possui capacidade suficiente para detetar notícias falsas, uma vez que aproximadamente 75% dos inquiridos obteve uma classificação de “muito insuficiente” ou “insuficiente” nesse diagnóstico. Dos seis determinantes analisados, apenas os valores médios de Consumo de Media e da Confiança Pública revelaram diferenças estatisticamente significativas nos diferentes escalões de diagnóstico da capacidade para detetar notícias ou informação falsa. No Consumo de Media, concluiu-se que pessoas que vêm televisão com mais frequência têm tendência a ter um bom desempenho no diagnóstico da capacidade para identificar notícias falsas. Já relativamente à Confiança Pública, os resultados revelaram que pessoas com maior nível de Confiança Pública têm também tendência para terem melhores resultados no diagnóstico da capacidade para detetar notícias falsas. Estes resultados evidenciam um cenário preocupante e favorável à expressão contínua da desinformação, potenciando riscos para o bem-estar, para a vivência em sociedade e para a saúde pública, tornando urgente o desenvolvimento de estratégias de combate à desinformação, de estratégias comportamentais de consumo de media e de manutenção do relacionamento com as instituições e serviços públicos.
The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the production and circulation of false information, especially in digital media, leading the World Health Organization to classify this phenomenon as an infodemic, i.e., a pandemic of misinformation. In this context, the spread of false information about the coronavirus has amplified and increased the risks to public health, social life and psychological well-being of individuals, so it is important to study the determinants that lead to its amplification. Considering the increasing contact with fake news and the dangers associated with this problem, the main purpose of this research is to assess the influence of six key determinants on the ability to identify fake news and information: religiosity, health literacy, media consumption, trust in information sources, public trust, and awareness of the existence of fact checkers, highlighting generational differences. Using a quantitative methodology, based on a hypothetical-deductive process, supported by an online self-administered online questionnaire survey, we studied these influences, on a sample of 305 participants. The results showed that most of the respondents do not have sufficient ability to detect fake news, considering that approximately 75% of the respondents obtained a rating of "very insufficient" or "insufficient", regardless of the determinants or generations under analysis. Of the six determinants analyzed, only the mean values of Media Consumption and Public Confidence showed statistically significant differences in the different diagnostic levels of the ability to detect fake news or information. In Media Consumption, it was concluded that people who watch television more often tend to have a good performance in the diagnosis of the ability to identify fake news. Regarding Public Trust, the results revealed that people with higher levels of Public Trust also tend to have better results in the diagnosis of the ability to detect fake news. These results show a worrisome and favorable scenario for the continuous expression of misinformation, potentiating risks for well-being, for living in society, and for public health, making it urgent to develop strategies to combat misinformation, behavioral strategies for media consumption and for maintaining the relationship with public institutions and services.
The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the production and circulation of false information, especially in digital media, leading the World Health Organization to classify this phenomenon as an infodemic, i.e., a pandemic of misinformation. In this context, the spread of false information about the coronavirus has amplified and increased the risks to public health, social life and psychological well-being of individuals, so it is important to study the determinants that lead to its amplification. Considering the increasing contact with fake news and the dangers associated with this problem, the main purpose of this research is to assess the influence of six key determinants on the ability to identify fake news and information: religiosity, health literacy, media consumption, trust in information sources, public trust, and awareness of the existence of fact checkers, highlighting generational differences. Using a quantitative methodology, based on a hypothetical-deductive process, supported by an online self-administered online questionnaire survey, we studied these influences, on a sample of 305 participants. The results showed that most of the respondents do not have sufficient ability to detect fake news, considering that approximately 75% of the respondents obtained a rating of "very insufficient" or "insufficient", regardless of the determinants or generations under analysis. Of the six determinants analyzed, only the mean values of Media Consumption and Public Confidence showed statistically significant differences in the different diagnostic levels of the ability to detect fake news or information. In Media Consumption, it was concluded that people who watch television more often tend to have a good performance in the diagnosis of the ability to identify fake news. Regarding Public Trust, the results revealed that people with higher levels of Public Trust also tend to have better results in the diagnosis of the ability to detect fake news. These results show a worrisome and favorable scenario for the continuous expression of misinformation, potentiating risks for well-being, for living in society, and for public health, making it urgent to develop strategies to combat misinformation, behavioral strategies for media consumption and for maintaining the relationship with public institutions and services.
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Keywords
Notícias falsas COVID-19 Determinantes Desinformação Gerações Fake news Determinants Misinformation Generations