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Fact checking is becoming an essential journalistic task because of the proliferation of misinformative content disseminated massively through social media and other channels. Based on this observation, the fundamental objective of the research that serves as the basis for this paper was to learn about the Spanish journalists' professional routines and training in fact-checking. The authors developed a 29-item questionnaire distributed via email to journalists nationwide between May and June 2023 to collect the information. We obtained 326 responses, resulting in several findings: a) the implementation of data verification is not uniform, being more frequent in some types of media --newspapers and verification platforms-- and in large corporations; b) workload is an obstacle that prevents most journalists from devoting as much time to verification as it would require; c) some areas generate more problems when it comes to cross-checking data --such as politics and economics--; d) the preferred sources for verification are academic and official sources --governments, state security forces-; e) the digital tools that are known or used by professionals still have low penetration rates, with only some exceptions; f) although the perception of the respondents is that they are sufficiently trained for verification work, only a minority have received specific training in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the use of Twitter by the candidates for the presidency of the Government of Spain of the five main parties at the national level -PSOE, PP, Vox, Podemos and Ciudadanos- of the general elections campaigns held in April and November 2019. The main purpose of our study is to determine the strategies used of the microblogging network by the leaders, both in terms of activity, interaction and notoriety and in terms of topics and discursive development, as well as their similarities and differences. The secondary objective is to study the evolution of these strategies both between the two campaigns and with respect to previous elections. To this end, the research is based on a content analysis methodology that studies quantitative, qualitative and discursive elements. The results reveal an uneven use of Twitter in terms of the frequency of updates, but similar in terms of its unidirectionality, with scarce interaction with other users and a predominance of tweets with their own content over retweets. The dissemination of other people's content was used almost entirely to promote the candidate's political party and, to a lesser extent, to interact with journalists. Dialogue with citizens was almost always residual, both in retweets and in responses. This utilitarian conception of the microblogging network was accompanied by a polarizing thematic selection, with an almost general preponderance of political issues over policy issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disinformation is one of the great challenges threatening the health of the public space and democratic systems, which must be based on truth to facilitate decision-making by citizens. For this reason, the fight against fake news has attracted attention from professionals and researchers during the last five years. In the journalistic field, numerous fact-checking outlets have been established. They use the media at their disposal and, above all, social networks to make verified content visible. TikTok, an emerging social video platform (very popular among the youth population), is the latest tool to be explored by fact-checkers to make the truth public. In this context, this paper aims to (1) determine the characteristics of fact-checkers' videos that drive their engagement on TikTok and (2) identify the factors that predict the number of likes, comments, views, times shared, and engagement rate of such content. All the videos published on this platform by the Spanish fact-checkers Maldito bulo and Newtral (n = 320) during the first 26 months of activity of both outlets were analyzed. Bivariate correlational studies, multiple linear regression, and binary logistic regression tests were applied. The type of content (verification versus explanation) has a greater impact on engagement than the topics of the videos. Verifications multiply the probability of a content getting an above-average number of likes, by 2.42. If the video is hosted by a woman, it doubles its chances of getting an above-average number of shares. Our results provide other valuable data that can help fact-checkers make their content more easily spreadable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade, the Internet, and the social networks in particular, have gained relevance as spaces for interaction and socialization. The multiplication and penetration of social media, as well as the volume and intensity of interactions, have led to a migration of the public sphere towards these platforms. In this (apparently neutral) virtual context, where social networks contribute to the construction or amplification of social relations, the Internet is configured as a space of inequality where power relations and patriarchal practices are reproduced, amplified by the sensation of anonymity and its disinhibiting effect. This paper analyzes the presence of hate speech and misogyny in the Twitter conversation around 50 Spanish women with public visibility online and in the real world, belonging to diverse professional fields: science, communication, culture, sports, business, and politics. Based on an automated search for insults and other hate terms, a content analysis of the direct interactions and indirect mentions received by these women on this social platform over a period of 1 year was carried out. The results of this study highlight the toxicity of the Twittersphere for female users. Thus, 15% of direct interactions and 10% of indirect interactions directed at these women included some kind of insult or disqualification, although not necessarily of a sexist or misogynist nature. This violence is especially evident against women representatives of those areas with greater visibility and social influence such as communication and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional offices for the communication and dissemination of science are gaining in importance at Spanish universities, and their activities can contribute to increasing the visibility and reputation of researchers. The objective of this study is to analyze the relations between the institutional communication of research results to the public and the impact and academic visibility of scientific papers. For this purpose, science communication and dissemination undertaken through press releases on R+D+i results from the Science Culture and Innovation Unit (SCIU) at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) were selected as a case study. This SCIU was chosen because it has published yearly reports for more than a decade on the impact in the media of its press releases. Press dossiers of the last five years available (2014-2018) were examined, and a database was created of the citations received by texts published in scientific journals indexed in the Web of Science as well as their mentions on social networks through the company Altmetric.com. After that, this information was statistically analyzed. The main results show that the journal impact index is important for obtaining academic citations or appearing in Twitter conversations. However, the influence of the journal impact factor turns out to be lower when it comes to popularizing scientific publications in the media. Furthermore, the statistical evidence points to the fact that scientific publications disseminated through the SCIU receive proportionally more citations than research that has not been disseminated through the institutional channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of data from social media and the measurement of the influence of its users are topics of increasing importance from different points of view, including the academic and the economic. In this paper we propose a reflection towards the creation of comprehensive algorithms for the measurement of influence through the analysis of data generated in the interactions of social media users, as well as the detection of new business models on the Net. To do so, the paper reflects on the concept of influence in social media and the role of information and communication professionals in its measurement and analysis, describes several instruments used to measure influence, and presents the project SocialEngagement, a web platform for the analysis and detection of referents, opinion makers and trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid adoption of social media by public administrations deserves attention from the side of institutional information and communication. One of the points recently identified is the tone used by public sector organizations to deliver their messages, as it may encourage citizen collaboration and participation. This paper explores the tone that Spanish city councils with more than 50,000 inhabitants are using in their social media profiles. This paper is based in two research questions: (a) What is the general tone used by the city councils in their use of social media?; (b) What explanatory factors are behind the adoption of one tone or another? Studying Twitter through big data techniques and statistical analysis, this study finds a positive general communicative tone. Traditional organizational, institutional and environmental factors do not seem to have a statistical significant influence over the tone. This article concludes with proposals for improvement on future research derived from the research results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the information coverage by the Spanish newspapers El país, El mundo, ABC, and La vanguardia in Twitter on the electoral campaign prior to the 10 November 2019 general elections. A content analysis of all tweets published by these media regarding the elections (n = 1,462) between Friday 1 and Saturday 9 November reveals that, although there are differences in the production patterns and features of the messages, the subject received notable attention in all the newspapers. The coverage gravitated around two main themes: the 4N electoral debate, and campaign events. The results reveal that, although most of the tweets had a neutral tone, messages with clear positioning corresponding to the editorial line of the newspaper were also published, albeit to a lesser extent. During the electoral period, the media agenda revolved around this issue, accounting for around one-fifth of all pieces published on Twitter. Newspapers do not take advantage of the dialogic nature or possibilities offered by this social network to create a community among their readers, limiting themselves to the dissemination of content from their digital edition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the existing literature on social networks in Ibero-America, with the objective of organizing the main topics covered, highlighting findings, and proposing future research paths. The four thematic areas that stand out are political communication and electronic government; journalism and traditional media; social groups (including adolescents and young people, those marginalized, women, entrepreneurs and influencers, students, and older adults) and areas of use (including commerce, tourism, education, health, professional communication); and political and civic participation. In addition, we review the literature from the perspective of the platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat) and from the geographical regions and countries that make up Ibero-America, to observe similarities and differences. We conclude with the mention and analysis of the two most outstanding patterns of the studies examined: 1) a tendency to expect from the networks a transformative potential that is not necessarily proven, especially in the case of political communication and journalism; 2) transformative capacity of networks in the areas of tourism, education and health, in which traditional media have not been characterized by having a prominent role. Finally, we propose some paths for future studies, among them the pursuit of comparative works, the incorporation of relational perspectives in the treatment of networks, the addition of mixed, experimental and computational methodologies, and the consideration, from the research design standpoint, of the acceleration of technological change and the need to generate questions and conceptualizations capable of surviving the passage of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Journalists specialized in health information have changed their work routines because of Internet and social networks. Generating health content allows researchers, physicians and patients to be connected and, in this respect, media play a prescriber role in the society. In this paper, the prevailing precariousness in the media is analyzed in order to see if it affects health information and the specialization of its professionals. This work is based on a qualitative research, using in-depth interviews with health information journalists belonging to 16 Spanish media. The research underscores the priority of certain resources, the need to enable verification processes and to face new professional challenges. This research is part of the Aula Nebrija-MSD Spain of Communication and Health Sciences funded project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how the streaming television platform Netflix creates a community in Twitter. Through a content analysis (N=1,048 tweets, n=100 tweets) we explore the characteristics of the messages with more answers, more likes and more retweets. Results allow to ascertain what the audience finds more relatable in a TV brand. Conclusions show that having a creative strategy, promote and inform about series, and using the social media language, like hashtags and visual resources, contribute to the follower's participation. Asking questions looking for participations or using humour or intrigue also helps towards this objective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological sites of Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain), declared World Heritage Site in 2000, stand out for their international repercussion due to the scientific results on human evolution. The aim of science socialization has lead to different communication policies, one for scientific dissemination and another for society dissemination. Although there is no specific transmedia communication plan, all communication resources are taken into advantage, to the extent of creating the Atapuerca Universe. This Universe works as a transmedia model, where prosumers acquire a leading role disseminating contents. The expansion generated from above by the producers is therefore complemented with the expansion from below made by the prosumers, sharing, expanding, modifying and generating new contents. This paper demonstrates that transmedia strategies are applicable to scientific projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite democratizing discourse using new technologies, different studies have shown the internet and social media have limits in the public sphere when it comes to developing identities or long term collective actions. This paper analyzes the thematic centrality and participation in the hashtag #NiUnaMenos, which was part of a collective demonstration carried out in November 2016. Using screen-scraping, an analysis of 118,974 tweets was conducted. This analysis revealed Twitter can be used as a diffusion tool and a place of collective action against gender violence. However, Twitter cannot be considered a platform for building a social consensus or for changing preconceived ideas. This article concludes that Twitter can be used to expand a specific social protest event -a demonstration- through the thematic positioning of terms related to that event. Nevertheless, Twitter is not a useful tool for discussing or dismanteling the patriarchy and sexism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong penetration of information and communication technologies have redefined the interaction of human beings. Internet as a medium and social networks as disruptive elements in communication have forced all subjects and political structures to adapt to a digital environment with new rules for interaction and collective participation. This paper analyzes the structure of relationships among political parties in a local government election. Based on graph theory , relationships between players in political communication in the twitter sphere are analyzed. Using the social graph of each political party we found an asymmetric communication that reveals different ways of persuading the electorate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Big data challenges personal data protection (Boyd, 2012). This paper is a contribution to the debate about the validity of the privacy self-management paradigm prevailing in western countries. I point out some limitations of the model notice and choice in which that paradigm is based in relation to the logic of big data processing. I also analyze the alternative model proposed by Solove (2013), to explain why it is not essentially different from notice and choice model. Finally, I expound on the necessity of developing a model which could be coherent with the logic of big data and its impact in privacy, both individual and collective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the use that the Spanish National Research Council centers (CSIC, by its Spanish abbreviation) and Spanish public universities make of web 2.0 in disseminating their research. The methodology used is based on an ad hoc checklist design for collecting data, focusing on three areas: the use of web 2.0 tools; connectivity (number of followers); and intensity (number of comments published). One significant finding was that both types of organizations made little use of social networks to disseminate their research. In the case of universities in 2014, around 40% were present on Facebook and Twitter, 22% on YouTube, and only 22% had blogs. In regard to CSIC centers, around 30% had Facebook and Twitter profiles, 18.9% were on YouTube, and 6.8% had informative blogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific social networks are a new meeting place for researchers and a major instrument for the promotion of knowledge. Their use is increasing in the scientific community, as they are practical tools to disseminate research results and to share knowledge. This paper examines the presence of 77 Spanish universities in the two main scientific social networks (ResearchGate and Academia.edu). The results show that, despite the continuous development that those networks are having worldwide, the number of Spanish members in them is considered insufficient and in some universities is almost anecdotal. These results should be the starting point for an action program of the universities to increase the membership of their academic staff in those networks, as part of their mission of disseminating knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, technological advances have enabled the news to go farther, faster and to more consumers. The spatial and temporal constraints that had always affected the information sector lost their importance, opening a window of opportunity thanks to digitization and the internet massification. However, the promised potential quickly faded: the lack of investment, excessive voluntarism and the distance between media companies and research led the media industry to successive failures, with thousands of media closed worldwide. Today, there is no doubt that journalism is experiencing one of the worst periods in its history. It may sound strange that technological evolution has converted an opportunity into a difficulty, but it happened. Nonetheless, how can the process be reversed, transforming the current difficulty into the previous opportunity? This paper delivers some proposals that seek to explore the potential of mobile devices and looks towards these as an escape from the crisis that affects the media companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the experience developed in the UNED (Spanish National University of Distance Education) to extend the use of Open Educational Resources for business and management education. UNED joined the European research project OpenScout --which offers value-added tools and services for learners, educators and technology providers- and participated in the design, creation, analysis and evaluation of a model of informal learning. OpenScout draws from a federated repository of educational resources, using and re-using the existing materials and generating new ones, in a creative, collaborative, multilingual international initiative. The cultural adaptation process has been analyzed in the Spanish context. The main strengths of OpenScout, linked to the re-use of open contents in the educational process, are described. In addition, we discuss the project's capacity for integration into larger virtual communities, seeking synergies from combined use with the most popular social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the objective of achieving greater visibility for the research and scholarly contributions generated by members of the university community, the development of a content management system (cms) is proposed that would work with the Semantically-interlinked online communities (Sioc) initiative, managed within the academic library. This enables interoperability between the information systems of the library and the dissemination of information in social networks. Nexus is a tool that facilitates interaction between researchers and academics using microformats and Drupal as a cms. This paper explains the features of the service, its nodes and modules, and the services offered under the philosophy of linked data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mainstream media all over the world have been regulating the behavior of their journalists in social media, fearing these new forms of communications might damage the credibility of their institutions. Those who have not yet done so face with concern this unstoppable challenge and are now outlining their own guidelines for social media policies. In an effort to inspire the design of these new policies, this paper aims to approach the recurring topics in the policies already written by leading media such as AP, American Society of News Editors (ASNE), BBC, Bloomberg, Charlotte observer, Freedom communication, Los Angeles times, NPR, Orlando sentinel, Politico, Reuters, Rockford register star, Saint Louis post-dispatch, Source media group, The Denver post, The guardian, The journal gazette, The Manhattan Mercury, The New York times, The Roanoke times, The Wall Street journal y The Washington post. A qualitative content analysis of 22 of these policies has been conducted to identify these topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The journalism profession is facing a new digital communication environment in which traditional information flows, emanating from the media to the general public unidirectionally, are reversed under the new channels of participation and influence that audiences, which are active and dynamic on the network, use to take part in shaping public opinion. In this paper we describe and analyze some of the citizens' information practices and the ethical dilemmas posed about journalism and the right to information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All trends seem to indicate that, to survive in a virtual environment, mass media need to incorporate some operational principles specific to the social media. This paper focusses on how the traditional Media are implementing 2.0 tools, incorporating to their know-how a new way of interaction with users based on collaborative participation and users- generated content. Some Spanish media, such as Elpais. com for online press and RTVE.es for the audiovisual sector, represent different strategies where users are connected with each other; they share ideas, information, entertainment and projects. However, when using 2.0 tools users and media should know they are facing potential legal risks, especially related to intellectual property, personal data protection, privacy, reputation and right to publicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper exposes a brief history of social network services on the Web that have evolved under the concept of Web 2.0, along with the most significant examples of these platforms. The concept of social networking and the main tests used to study them are explained, as well as their implications within different kinds of social capital (weak and strong ties) and the impact that the different web services can have on the relationship among their users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their increasing connectivity and processing power, mobile devices are engaged in a process of mediatization that involves, on one side, conventional media related paradigms (standardized contents, pay per access, individualized passive consumption) and, on the other side, the Social Web related 2.0 paradigm (personalized and user generated content, third party open environments, collaborative work, prevalence of 'sharing' logics, etc.). This paper poses a general framework of those factors that enable the relevance of the Web 2.0 paradigm in the current development of market and data consumption in mobile devices, including some conceptual outline that may prove useful in future research of the evolution of mobile content production, business and consumption models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]