Fact-checking en Colombia: RedCheq en las elecciones regionales de 2019

Carlos Rodríguez-Pérez; Dafne Calvo; Eva Campos-Domínguez

doi:10.7764/cdi.53.40653

Authors

Carlos Rodríguez-Pérez Universidad de La Sabana
Dafne Calvo Universidad de Valencia
Eva Campos-Domínguez Universidad de Valladolid

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.53.40653

Keywords:

fact-checking, television journalism, misinformation, political communication, social networks, Colombia, RedCheq

Abstract

Globally, there is a social concern regarding the effects of disinformation in electoral processes; in fact, the community of verification journalists has evaluated contents and statements during elections. This research delves into fact-checking journalism in Colombia through the case study of the RedCheq platform during the 2019 regional elections. Through a quantitative content analysis, this article analyzes the geographic scope, the typology of verified information, the tools employed, and the characteristics of the checked actors. The results show the regional reach of RedCheq's fact-checking journalism practice in Colombia. The fact-checks on electoral matters, justice, and the economy predominated. Besides, there was a balance between verifying public statements and tracking social networks to identify misleading content. The analysis revealed ideological impartiality to assess the check of content propagated by the political parties that competed in the elections. The latter is relevant in order to provide institutionality and legitimacy to fact-checking journalism, which faces accusations about following ideological bias.

Author Biographies

Carlos Rodríguez-Pérez, Universidad de La Sabana

He is a professor at the Faculty of Communication at the University of La Sabana (Colombia). He is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Information Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid. He has a Master's degree in Political and Institutional Communication from the Ortega y Gasset University Research Institute in Madrid and a Master's degree in Marketing, Consulting and Political Communication from the University of Santiago de Compostela. He graduated in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication at the Carlos III University of Madrid.

Dafne Calvo, Universidad de Valencia

She is a PhD in Communication and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Valencia. She has made stays in other research centers, especially in Latin America. She has belonged to five national R&D projects since 2015 and her research has received funding from various public and private institutions. She combines her academic work with collaboration in various journalistic productions, meetings and outreach events. Her academic interests focus on political participation, digital communication and free culture.

Eva Campos-Domínguez, Universidad de Valladolid

She is a professor of Journalism at the University of Valladolid. She received a Leonardo scholarship from the BBVA Foundation and co-Principal Investigator of the project Flows of disinformation, polarization and crisis of media intermediation (Disflows) of the Mediaflows group. For more than 15 years she has researched the development of digital political communication. She is the author and co-author of several publications that address the contemporary transformations of political communication on the Internet.

References

Amazeen, M. A. (2019). Practitioner perceptions: Critical junctures and the global emergence and challenges of fact-checking. International Communication Gazette, 81(6-8), 541-561. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048518817674

Amazeen, M. A. (2015). Revisiting the Epistemology of Fact-Checking. Critical Review, 27(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2014.993890

Bernhard, L. (2021). Fact-checking direct democracy. When journalists set out to correct misinformation. In S. Baume, V. Boillet, & V. Martenet (Eds.), Misinformation in Referenda (pp. 77-90). Routledge.

Brandtzaeg, P. B., Følstad, A., & Chaparro-Domínguez, M. Á. (2018). How Journalists and Social Media Users Perceive Online Fact-Checking and Verification Services. Journalism Practice, 12(9), 1109-1129. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2017.1363657

Carrera, P. (2018). Estratagemas de la posverdad (The stratagems of post-truth). Revista Latina De Comunicación Social, (73), 1469-1481. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2018-1317

Cheruiyot, D. & Ferrer-Conill, R. (2018). “Fact-Checking Africa”. Epistemologies, data and the expansion of journalistic discourse. Digital Journalism, 6(8), 964-975. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.1493940

Corporación Latinobarómetro. (2018). Corporación Latinobarómetro 2018. Santiago de Chile. https://www.latinobarometro.org/latContents.jsp

Cortés, C. & Peñarredonda, J. (2018). Politics (on WhatsApp) is Dynamic: Disinformation and the Spread of Political ‘Chains’ in Colombia. Linterna verde. Retrieved fromhttps://bit.ly/3P9DzVE

Dajer, D. (2021). Colombia: The use of social media in democratic spaces: a double-edged sword. In L. Schirch (Ed.), Social Media Impacts on Conflict and Democracy (pp. 59-80). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003087649

DANE. (2019a). Censo nacional de población y vivienda (National Population and Housing Census). https://sitios.dane.gov.co/cnpv/#!/

DANE. (2019b). Encuesta de cultura política (ECP) (Political culture survey). https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/comunicados-y-boletines/estadisticas-sociales/ cultura-politica

DANE. (2019c). PIB por departamento. (GDP by department). https://www.dane.gov.co/index. php/estadisticas-por-tema/cuentas-nacionales/cuentas-nacionales-departamentales

de Rezende-Damasceno, D. & Patrício, E. (2020). JOURNALISM AND FACT-CHECKING: typification of sources used for checking and criteria for selecting fact-checked material –an analysis by Agência Lupa and Aos Fatos. Brazilian Journalism Research, 16(2), 368-393. https://doi.org/10.25200/BJR.v16n2.2020.1212

Duque-Daza, J. (2014). Partidos y partidismo. Los partidos políticos colombianos y su enraizamiento en la sociedad (Parties and partisanship. Colombian political parties and their roots in the society). Revista De La Facultad De Derecho Y Ciencias Políticas, 44(120), 311-347. https://revistas.upb.edu.co/index.php/derecho/article/view/3265

Duque-Daza, J. (2019). La oposición partidista en Colombia 2010-2018. Radicalización de derecha y confrontación de izquierda (Party Opposition in Colombia 2010-2018. Rightwing Radicalization and Left-wing Confrontation). Fórum. Revista Departamento de Ciencia Política, (16), 59-92. https://doi.org/10.15446/frdcp.n16.78258

Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa. (2019). Cartografías de la información (Information mapping). https://bit.ly/3QsSJpV

Graves, L. (2017). Anatomy of a Fact Check: Objective Practice and the Contested Epistemology of Fact Checking. Communication, Culture & Critique, 10(3), 518-537. https://doi.org/10.1111/cccr.12163

Graves, L. (2018). Boundaries Not Drawn. Journalism Studies, 19(5), 613–631. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2016.1196602

Graves, L. & Cherubini, F. (2016). The Rise of Fact-Checking Sites in Europe. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/risefact-checking-sites-europe

Graves, L. & Konieczna, M. (2015). Qualitative Political Communication| Sharing the News: Journalistic Collaboration as Field Repair. International Journal of Communication, 9, 19. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3381

Graves, L., Nyhan, B., & Reifler, J. (2016). Understanding Innovations in Journalistic Practice: A Field Experiment Examining Motivations for Fact-Checking. Journal of Communication, 66(1), 102-138. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12198

Helberger, N. (2020). The Political Power of Platforms: How Current Attempts to Regulate Misinformation Amplify Opinion Power. Digital Journalism, 8(6), 842-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1773888

Humprecht, E. (2020). How Do They Debunk “Fake News” A Cross-National Comparison of Transparency in Fact Checks. Digital Journalism, 8(3), 310-327. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1691031

Josephi, B. (2013). How much democracy does journalism need? Journalism, 14(4), 474-489. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884912464172

Lim, C. (2018). Checking how fact-checkers check. Research & Politics, 5(3), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168018786848

Lowrey, W. (2017). The Emergence and Development of News Factchecking Sites. Institutional logics and population ecology. Journalism Studies, 18(3), 376-394. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2015.1052537

Lyons, B., Mérola, V., Reifler, J., & Stoeckel, F. (2020). How Politics Shape Views Toward Fact- Checking: Evidence from Six European Countries. The International Journal of Press/ Politics, 25(3), 469-492. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161220921732

Marchal, N., Neudert, L., Kollanyi, B., & Howard, P. N. (2018). Polarization, Partisanship and Junk News Consumption on Social Media During the 2018 US Midterm Elections. Project on Computational Propaganda. https://bit.ly/3SpaEzI

Marietta, M., Barker, D. & Bowser, T. (2015). Fact-Checking Polarized Politics: Does The Fact-Check Industry Provide Consistent Guidance on Disputed Realities? The Forum, 13(4), 577-596. https://doi.org/10.1515/for-2015-0040

Mathews, N. (2020). Life in a news desert: The perceived impact of a newspaper closure on community members. Journalism, 23(6), 1250-1265. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920957885

Medina-Uribe, P. (2018). In Colombia, a WhatsApp campaign against *Posverdad*. The Wilson Quarterly. https://www.wilsonquarterly.com/quarterly/the-disinformation-age/incolombia-a-whatsapp-campaign-against-posverdad

Mena, P. (2019). Principles and Boundaries of Fact-Checking: Journalists’ Perceptions. Journalism Practice, 13(6), 657-672. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2018.1547655

Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Schulz, A., Andi, S., Craig, R., & Kleis-Nielsen, R. (2021). Digital News Report 2021. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021

Nyhan, B. & Reifler, J. (2014). The Effect of Fact-Checking on Elites: A Field Experiment on U.S. State Legislators. American Journal of Political Science, 59(3), 628-640. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12162

Nyhan, B., Porter, E., Reifler, J., & Wood, T. J. (2019). Taking Fact-Checks Literally But Not Seriously? The Effects of Journalistic Fact-Checking on Factual Beliefs and Candidate Favorability. Political Behavior, 42, 939–960. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-019-09528-x

Palau-Sampio, D. (2018). Fact-checking y vigilancia del poder: La verificación del discurso público en los nuevos medios de América Latina (Fact-checking and scrutiny of power: Supervision of public discourses in new media platforms from Latin America). Communication & Society, 31(3), 347-365. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.31.3.347-363

Robertson, C. T., Mourão, R. R., & Thorson, E. (2020). Who Uses Fact-Checking Sites? The Impact of Demographics, Political Antecedents, and Media Use on Fact-Checking Site Awareness, Attitudes, and Behavior. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(2), 217-237. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161219898055

Rodríguez-Pérez, C., Paniagua-Rojano, F. J., & Magallón-Rosa, R. (2021). Debunking Political Disinformation through Journalists’ Perceptions: An Analysis of Colombia’s Fact-Checking News Practices. Media and Communication, 9(1), 264-275. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v9i1.3374

Singer, J. B. (2020). Border patrol: The rise and role of fact-checkers and their challenge to journalists’ normative boundaries. Journalism, 22(8), 1929-1946. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920933137

Tenove, C. (2020). Protecting Democracy from Disinformation: Normative Threats and Policy Responses. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 25(3), 517-537. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161220918740

Thomson, T. J., Angus, D., Dootson, P., Hurcombe, E., & Smith, A. (2020). Visual Mis/ disinformation in Journalism and Public Communications: Current Verification Practices, Challenges, and Future Opportunities. Journalism Practice, 16(5), 938-962. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2020.1832139

Ufarte Ruiz, M. J., Calvo Rubio, L. M., & Murcia Verdú, F. J. (2022). Combatir las noticias falsas. El perfil profesional del verificador de la información en España (Fight fake news. The professional profile of the information verifier in Spain). Vivat Academia. Revista de Comunicación, (155), 265-295. https://www.vivatacademia.net/index.php/vivat/article/view/1365

Uscinski, J. E. (2015). The Epistemology of Fact Checking (Is Still Naìve): Rejoinder to Amazeen. Critical Review, 27(2), 243-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2015.1055892

Uscinski, J. E. & Butler, R. W. (2013). The Epistemology of Fact Checking. Critical Review, 25(2), 162-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2013.843872

Valencia-Nieto, D. G., Pereira-González, J. M., & Rodríguez-Leuro, J. A. (2019). Condiciones Laborales y Sociales de los Periodistas en las Regiones de Colombia (Labor and Social Conditions of Journalists in the Regions of Colombia). Mediaciones Sociales, 18, 85-105. https://doi.org/10.5209/meso.66907

Vázquez-Herrero, J., Vizoso, Á, & López-García, X. (2019). Innovación tecnológica y comunicativa para combatir la desinformación: 135 experiencias para un cambio de rumbo (Technological and communicative innovation to fight misinformation: 135 experiences for a change of direction). Profesional De La Información, 28(3). https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2019.may.01

Wintersieck, A. L. (2017). Debating the Truth: The Impact of Fact-Checking During Electoral Debates. American Politics Research, 45(2), 304–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X16686555

Zommer, L. (2015). El boom del fact checking y la vuelta a las fuentes (The fact checking boom and the return to sources). In G. Roitberg & F. Piccato (Comps.), Periodismo disruptivo (Disruptive Journalism) (pp. 111-118). La Crujía.