Disinformation does not arrive mainly through the media, but through social networks and messaging apps, especially WhatsApp. This is what the report «Análisis del periodismo andaluz frente a la desinformación» states, prepared by the DesinfoAND project of the University of Málaga (UMA) in collaboration with the Málaga Press Association (APM), which is presented on Tuesday, November 10 at 10.00 hours at the APM headquarters.
The study points out that the hoaxes that most affect the local environment revolve around politics, immigration, security and crime. Faced with them, the professionals consulted highlight an advantage of proximity journalism: knowing the territory and its protagonists makes it easier to cross-check data and detect inaccuracies, which generates trust among citizens.
Strength clashes with reduced staff
That advantage coexists with a structural weakness. Reduced staff, the economic crisis of the media, lack of time and the pressure of immediacy make more exhaustive verification and direct access to sources difficult, according to the conclusions of the work.
In daily routines, cross-checking with several sources, the decision not to publish what could not be verified and collaboration between journalists from different media predominate. Professional groups, especially those created on WhatsApp, function as support spaces for cross-checking news. However, most of the people interviewed point out that their media lack specific and shared protocols against disinformation and do not have specialized technological tools.
Regarding artificial intelligence, its use is beginning to spread as support in auxiliary tasks, such as transcribing interviews or documentation, but in a poorly systematized way and rarely for writing news. Journalists recognize its potential to streamline processes, although they report cases of erroneous data and invented information that force constant supervision and verification. Their main concern goes beyond errors: they point to the risk of replacing professionals in already weakened newsrooms and call for clear protocols so that technology does not replace judgment or destroy jobs.
The report concludes that the response to disinformation cannot depend only on individual training. It advocates strengthening local newsrooms with more human and technical resources, guaranteeing time to verify, promoting continuous training and using artificial intelligence always under human supervision. It adds the need to improve citizens' media literacy and to encourage the consumption of local media.
The presentation on Tuesday, November 10, at the APM headquarters, is free entry until full capacity is reached and will end with a debate open to public participation.
The DesinfoAND project team is directed by Laura Teruel Rodríguez, professor of the Department of Journalism and principal investigator, and Livia García Faroldi, professor of the Department of State Law and Sociology and co-principal investigator. On behalf of the APM, its president, Elena Blanco Castilla, and Jesús Espino González, member of the association and general director of Communication of the Málaga City Council, have collaborated.
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