■ Upcoming Workshops
Open Workshop. «Principios y técnicas para un uso profesional de la inteligencia artificial generativa en las redacciones». Organizer: Cadena SER Euskadi. Bilbao, October 23, 2024. ➔ Free registration
Cluster Event IBERIFIER & HYBRIDS: Artificial Intelligence & Disinformation. Keynote: «Joining forces against disinformation: the experience of Iberifier». Santiago de Compostela, October 24-25, 2024. ➔ Free registration
■ Just out!
BOOK CHAPTER — October 2024
Salaverría, R. (2024). Desinformación, una oportunidad para el periodismo. En Magallón, R. (coord.), Comprometidos con la verdad. Propuestas para combatir la desinformación (pp. 139-144). Madrid: CLABE.. ISBN: 978-84-09-58924-1
Abstract
La desinformación es una amenaza global, pero también una oportunidad para el periodismo. Si el principal problema de los medios es su pérdida de credibilidad, la desinformación brinda una ocasión única para recuperar la reputación. Para eso, medios y periodistas deben abordar cambios.
RESEARCH ARTICLE — September 2024
Larraz, I., Salaverría, R., & Serrano, J. (2024). Combating Repeated Lies: Impact of Fact-checking on Persistent
Falsehoods by Politicians. Media & Communication, 12, Article 8642. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.8642
Abstract
The rise of repeated false claims within political discourse is undermining fact-checking efforts. By reiterating similar statements that perpetuate previous falsehoods, political actors shift from misinformation to deliberate disinformation and even propagandistic tactics. Through an analysis of 1,204 political fact-checks conducted by the Spanish fact-checking organization Newtral, this study quantifies and characterizes the prevalence of repeated false claims in political discourse, revealing that a substantial 24.8% of false statements are repeated, with each being repeated an average of four times. By delving into the nature and types of claims most susceptible to recurrence, the study identifies five primary patterns employed by political actors: nuanced variations, data manipulation, multilateral attacks, discourse qualification, and cumulative repetition. These tactics blur the lines between deception and self-correction. The annotated database of these repeated false statements can serve as a valuable resource for exploratory qualitative analysis as well as claim-matching research in automated fact-checking.
BOOK CHAPTER — September 2024
Salaverría, R., Martínez-Costa, M. P., & González Tosat, C. (2024). Decentralised Networks as a Tool for Fighting Disinformation and Censorship: The Fediverse and Free, Collaborative and Open Networks. In: Sixto-García, J. et al. (Eds.) Journalism, Digital Media and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (pp. 15-25). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-63153-5_2
Abstract
The presence of disinformation and hate speech has multiplied on several centralised social networks. Since its purchase by Elon Musk in 2022, Twitter (renamed X) has taken controversial measures to increase profits, at the cost of degrading the content offered to users. Other networks, such as TikTok, are suspected of serving as a resource for international espionage, or of stimulating addictive behaviour among minors. Faced with the threats derived from the strategy of these social networks, decentralised network alternatives are emerging, including the so-called fediverse of networks such as Mastodon, with models based on open collaboration and dynamics far removed from the trending topics. This chapter analyses the recent evolution of centralised social networks, showing the problems derived from their transformation. It then analyses the opportunities and limitations of decentralised networks as a resource for overcoming these problems. In particular, it explores the resilience of these networks as a tool for combatting disinformation and censorship..
■ Keynotes
La sociedad de la desinformación. Keynote at the seminar El laberinto de la desinformación. Co-organized by Observatorio Social LaCaixa, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Universidad de Navarra and Iberifier.
CaixaForum Macaya, Barcelona, March 7, 2024.
■ Upcoming publications
Salaverría, R. (2024). Metrics-driven news: the impact of data analytics on journalism. In S. Eldrige II, J. Swart, D. Cheruiyot, & S. Banjac (Eds.). Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies, Second Edition (pp. ??-??). London: Routledge. ISBN: 9781032369808
[To be published on Dec. 16, 2024]
■ Recent publications
RESEARCH ARTICLE — July 2024
Salaverría, R., Bachmann, I. & Magallón-Rosa, R. (2024). Desinformación y confianza en los medios: propuestas de actuación. index.comunicación, 14(2), 13-32. DOI:10.62008/ixc/14/02Yconfi
Abstract
Disinformation has influenced public trust in democratic institutions, particularly the media. Through examples from countries with varying levels of democratic quality, it is demonstrated how disinformation is used to polarize and politically mobilize. The role of the media in this context is crucial, as trust in them depends on multiple interrelated factors, such as the impact of disinformation on news consumption and public trust, the psychological and sociocultural factors that affect vulnerability to disinformation, and technological advances, especially generative artificial intelligence. Based on this diagnosis, mechanisms of self-regulation and increased transparency are proposed as foundations to improve trust. Additionally, the need for academic research on the role of digital platforms and algorithms in the spread of disinformation and its impact on trust and democratic quality is emphasized.
RESEARCH ARTICLE — June 2024
Apablaza-Campos, A., Wilches Tinjacá, J. A., & Salaverría, R. (2024). Generative Artificial Intelligence for Journalistic Content in Ibero-America : Perceptions, Challenges and Regional Projections. BiD, núm. 52 (june). DOI:10.1344/bid2024.52.06
Abstract
Introduction: The increasing availability of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has brought with it various, increasingly advanced, uses for content production. Digital media editors have not been immune to the phenomenon, which is why there is growing interest, both professional and academic, regarding its possible uses. Objectives: In this paper we seek to detect the experiences, challenges and projections regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the generation of news content. In turn, the specific objectives aim both to offer a general overview of journalistic experiences with AI and to study the results of a survey regarding the use of this technology in the production of content in Ibero-America. Methodology: A survey was conducted among 154 participants through a cycle of webinars held at four universities in Ibero-America during the second semester of 2023, corresponding to 14 countries in the region, including academics, researchers and students of Journalism (and related degrees in Social Communication), along with managers and journalists from prominent media outlets. Results: although journalistic experiences with AI are still incipient in the region, the responses obtained show that most participants use generative AI tools every week, there is greater knowledge (and preference) for ChatGPT, and there is a consensus regarding how artificial intelligence can bring great benefits if it has the proper regulations.
RESEARCH ARTICLE — May 2024
Salaverría, R., & Martínez-Costa, M. P. (2024). Digital journalism in Spain: Technological, sociopolitical and economic factors as drivers of media evolution. Journalism, 25(5), Special Issue: Digital News Histories in Europe: 1050-1069. DOI:10.1177/14648849231170519
Abstract
Digital journalism has been a reality in Spain for nearly 30 years. In this time, the number of digital media outlets has steadily increased to become the most abundant type of media in the 2020s, ahead of print, radio and television. Based on a quantitative analysis of the authors’ own database of active digital media outlets (n = 2726) and an examination of Spain’s technological, sociopolitical and economic development in recent decades, this article identifies several factors that have spurred the evolution of digital journalism in Spain. The study results show a correlation in the period from 1994 to 2020 between the percentage of Internet users and the number of active digital media outlets, which showed very similar progress. The study also detects a relationship between the country’s economic evolution and the expansion of digital media, albeit with a seemingly paradoxical effect: digital media, especially digital native media companies, proliferated even more when the economy was at its worst. The article highlights the subtle effects of political factors on the development of digital media in the period under study, although increasing political polarization has triggered additional transformation processes in recent years.
RESEARCH ARTICLE — October 2023
Salaverría, R., & Cardoso, G. (2023). Future of disinformation studies: emerging research fields. Profesional de la información, v. 32, n. 5, e320525. DOI:10.3145/epi.2023.sep.25
Abstract
This article examines research trends on disinformation. First, it explores the relationship between disinformation and digital news media, highlighting the negative impact of disinformation on citizens’ trust in the news. Recent research on disinformation is classified into several areas, including typological studies, research on fact-checking, disinformation on digital platforms, and studies on media literacy. Next, the article identifies several emerging fields for research, such as studies on disinformation narratives, information manipulation and international interference, artificial intelligence generated disinformation, cross-platform disinformation, and thematic and multidisciplinary studies. Based on this analysis, the article highlights the need to continue investigating and combatting disinformation, as it is a persistent and growing problem in democratic societies.
BOOK CHAPTER — March 2024
Garde-Eransus, E., & Salaverría, R. (2024). Patrones discursivos de la desinformación en España. In: J. Rúas Araújo, L. Alonso Muñoz & F. J. Paniagua Rojano (Eds.), El impacto de la desinformación en el ámbito local (pp. 111-127). Madrid: Fragua. ISBN: 9788412732535
Abstract
Una de las principales fuentes de bulos en España se encuentra en los llamados pseudomedios, sitios web de alcance tanto nacional como local que, bajo la apariencia de medios convencionales, propagan contenidos desinformativos ignorando los más elementales estándares profesionales del periodismo. A través de un análisis cuantitativo basado en la lingüística de corpus y un posterior estudio cualitativo apoyado en el análisis del discurso, este trabajo identifica las estrategias lingüísticas y discursivas que emplean los pseudomedios para denigrar a ciertos grupos sociales, tales como inmigrantes, colectivos feministas o ciertos grupos políticos. En concreto, el estudio detecta cinco estrategias: 1) la preferencia por el uso de estructuras adversativas, 2) la utilización intensiva de oposiciones léxicas, 3) el recurso a la ironía, 4) ciertas modalidades de empleo de los pronombres personales y posesivos, y 5) diversas formas de adjetivación peyorativa.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE — 2019
Salaverría, R. (2019). Digital journalism. In: Vos, T. P., & Hanusch, F. (Eds.) The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies (pp. 453-463). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. DOI:10.1002/9781118841570.iejs0189 ISBN:9781118841679
Abstract
Since the 1990s, digital journalism as a form of journalism that researches, produces, and publishes news solely with digital technologies has expanded rapidly. In addition to defining this model of journalism, this entry explains the global dimension that digital journalism has reached, as well as its history, typology of media, storytelling formats, ethical aspects, and future economic and technological challenges.
■ Interviews
Interview with Alejandra Álvarez. Directa. ¿Estamos llegando a una «sociedad de la desinformación»?. Guatemala, October 4, 2024.
More:
■ Books
Single-authored books, co-edited monographs and conference proceedings edited by Ramón Salaverría.
■ Media & interviews
«La IA va a ser una revolución aún más profunda que la que supuso internet», El Correo (Bilbao), p. 48, June 11, 2024.
More:
■ Teaching
On the academic year 2023-24, my colleague Clara González Tosat and I started the subject Artificial Intelligence in Journalism at the School of Communication, University of Navarra. Since then, we are exploring with students the use of AI in newswork: research, generation and distribution of news, and fact-checking. Watch this video that summarizes our pioneering experience.
■ Thoughts
X post, August 25, 2014.
El periodismo es como el café: hay que servirlo rápido, endulzarlo lo justo y no estropearlo con mala leche.
■ Author
Ramón Salaverría
Full Professor of Journalism at University of Navarra and member of Academia Europaea. My research focuses on digital journalism and disinformation.
Author of over 300 scholarly publications, I am listed in the Stanford University ranking of the World’s most cited researchers. Award-winner of the ‘Researcher of the Year’ prize at the Roblon Awards, which recognizes excellence on media and communication research in Spanish-speaking countries.
With an extensive career as a researcher and leader of national and international research projects, I am currently the principal investigator of Iberifier, the Iberian digital media observatory funded by the European Commission. I chaired the Journalism Studies Section of ECREA, as well as the Committee of Experts on Increasing Resilience of Media (MSI-RES) at the Council of Europe.
I have served as visiting researcher at the University of Texas at Austin (USA), as well as a guest professor at a dozen universities in Europe and the Americas. I have delivered keynotes, workshops and training programs in more than 30 countries.
Full bio & publications: web | pdf