What makes us vulnerable to COVID-19 fake news? A critical review of the factors conditioning susceptibility to misinformation
- Manuel García-Borrego Universidad de Málaga https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6207-8741
- Andreu Casero-Ripollés Universitat Jaume I https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6986-4163
Abstract
COVID-19 has led to a sharp dramatic in the circulation of fake news, which pose a potential danger to public health. It is relevant to determine which citizens are most vulnerable to this phenomenon and, thus, offer elements to promote public policies and digital literacy campaigns that prevent its harmful consequences. Our goal is to carry out a critical review of previous research that brings together, in a comprehensive way, the currently dispersed knowledge. The sample is made up of 200 articles published between 2020 and 2021 in journals indexed in Web of Science. The results show that young people, women, less educated people, conservatives, religious believers, those suffering from mental health issues, social media news consumers or those who trust journalists to a greater extent are the most vulnerable audiences. Our critical analysis also detects a series of pending challenges for future studies in this field.
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Author Biographies
Manuel García-Borrego es Profesor Sustituto Interino en la Universidad de Málaga, acreditado a Profesor Contratado Doctor por ANECA. Premio Extraordinario de Máster, realizó su tesis doctoral con una ayuda FPU del Ministerio de Educación (Sobresaliente Cum Laude, Mención Internacional). Ha publicado una veintena de artículos en revistas con índice de impacto, una veintena de capítulos de libros y más de 40 congresos. También ha llevado a cabo estancias de investigación en la Universidad de Bergen (Noruega) y la Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, y trabajado como Profesor Sustituto Interino en la Universidad de Sevilla. En 2020 obtuvo el Premio Profesorado de la Universidad de Málaga.
Andreu Casero-Ripollés es catedrático de Periodismo en la Universitat Jaume I de Castellón. Ha sido decano de la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales y director del Departamento de Ciencias de la Comunicación. Ha dirigido como investigador principal 9 proyectos I+D obtenidos en convocatorias competitivas. Es presidente de la Sociedad Española de Periodística (SEP).
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