Global mapping of fact-checking on Instagram. Content formats and their effect on engagement
Abstract
This paper presents an exhaustive study on the use of Instagram by fact-checking journalism at a global level. Specifically, it analyzes the use of the formats allowed by this platform (photo, album, and video) and their effect on two key engagement indicators: likes and comments. Descriptive and inferential statistics (multiple linear regressions) were used to analyze all the posts of the fact-checkers belonging to IFCN published up to October 2023 (n=95631; 80 fact-checkers from 49 countries). There are significant differences in the use of the formats by world regions. Globally, the format has a greater effect on the number of likes than on comments. Latin American and Asian fact-checkers make better use of the platform, since they use the formats that are most effective in driving both likes and comments. The most significant differences between the use of formats and engagement are to be found in Europe: the usage of the single photograph is the most common, even though it is the format that receives the least number of likes and comments. Although in general terms the use of the album format significantly boosts both indicators, there are significant deviations in engagement between the different regions, which demonstrates its contextual nature and the difficulty of establishing general guidelines to enhance it.
Downloads
Article download
License
In order to support the global exchange of knowledge, the journal Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico is allowing unrestricted access to its content as from its publication in this electronic edition, and as such it is an open-access journal. The originals published in this journal are the property of the Complutense University of Madrid and any reproduction thereof in full or in part must cite the source. All content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 use and distribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This circumstance must be expressly stated in these terms where necessary. You can view the summary and the complete legal text of the licence.