Through a work of data collection performed during the EU funded project SOMA, T6 has collected data on the impact of the fake news during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the results of the analysis conducted has been used by Simona De Rosa, partner of T6, to reflect on the on the role of the language in spreading fake news during the pandemic. The contribution has been published by the Società Studi Geografici in the volume “Memorie Geografiche” N. 21/2022 entitled “Catene/Chain”. To access the contribution click here.
Abstract:
“As claimed by several scholars, the magnitude of disinformation and its effects is causing concern. One of the major challenges of the current information ecosystem is the spread of fake news through digital media. The problem has been evident during the pandemic of Covid-19. Disinformation about Covid-19 contributed to confuse and scare people about the virus also due to the emotional language used. the current paper intends to address the following questions: how has such a negative emotional language impacted people? Has the pandemic changed the way in which citizens consume information? The paper investigates those questions through a quali-quantitative analysis based on a semi-structured questionnaire circulated in Italy during the Covid-19 crisis.”