Fact-checking strategies to limit urban legends spreading in a segregated society

We propose a framework to study the spreading of urban legends, i.e., false stories that become persistent in a local popular culture, where social groups are naturally segregated by virtue of many (both mutable and immutable) attributes. The goal of this work is identifying and testing new strategies to restrain the dissemination of false information, focusing on the role of network polarization. Following the traditional approach in the study of information diffusion, we consider an epidemic network-based model where the agents can be ‘infected’ after being exposed to the urban legend or to its debunking depending on the belief of their neighborhood. Simulating the spreading process on several networks showing different kind of segregation, we perform a what-if analysis to compare strategies and to understand where it is better to locate eternal fact-checkers, nodes that maintain their position as debunkers of the given urban legend. Our results suggest that very few of these strategies have a chance to succeed. This apparently negative outcomes turns out to be somehow surprising taking into account that we ran our simulations under a highly pessimistic assumption, such that the ‘believers’, i.e., agents that accepted as true the urban legend after they have been exposed to it, will not change their belief no matter of how much external or internal additional informational sources they access to. This has implications on policies that are supposed to decide which strategy to apply to stop misinformation from spreading in real world networks

Capire la diffusione della disinformazione e come contrastarla

La proliferazione di fake news è uno dei temi più discussi degli ultimi anni: un problema non nuovo, ma amplificato dalle nuove tecnologie digitali che permettono scambi di informazioni sempre più rapidi e disintermediati. Proponiamo qui un modello per studiare la diffusione della disinformazione come un processo virale in cui bufale e relative smentite (debunking) competono tra loro, focalizzando la nostra attenzione soprattutto sul ruolo della struttura (topologia) della rete sociale sottostante. La segregazione strutturale aiuta o limita la propagazione? Le simulazioni del nostro modello mostrano che la risposta non è univoca. Infine consideriamo possibili strategie per suggerire policies efficaci e potenziare piattaforme di fact-checking

The promulgation of urban legends in Hong Kong: Li\u27s field as a case study

In the midst of rapid social changes and modernization, urban legends survive as a stable but evolving structure which exist in many distinct and universal societies. To satisfy one’s psychological and social urges, people could actively engage in and swap between the roles of creators, co-creators and listeners of urban legends. Undeniably, the existence of urban legends have been taken for granted, as manifested by their recurring appearances in social interactions with social members like family members and acquaintances. Unlike fairy tales or historical stories, urban legends do trigger larger public attention and intrigue, even if the narrative elements of a typical urban legend are ambiguous and difficult to validate. Despite Weber’s (1958) articulation of the rationalized modern society, the mania for urban legends may follow a contradiction with evidence-based modern science. While these urban stories successfully acquire mass public attention for pure entertainment, little do we know why these stories are being told. Despite being taken for granted, it is of interest to unveil the facade of urban legends and understand why they are created and how they are sustained, as well as the implicit meanings conveyed

Social media, political polarization, and political disinformation: a review of the scientific literature

The following report is intended to provide an overview of the current state of the literature on the relationship between social media; political polarization; and political “disinformation,” a term used to encompass a wide range of types of information about politics found online, including “fake news,” rumors, deliberately factually incorrect information, inadvertently factually incorrect information, politically slanted information, and “hyperpartisan” news. The review of the literature is provided in six separate sections, each of which can be read individually but that cumulatively are intended to provide an overview of what is known — and unknown — about the relationship between social media, political polarization, and disinformation. The report concludes by identifying key gaps in our understanding of these phenomena and the data that are needed to address them

Social media, political polarization, and political disinformation: a review of the scientific literature

The following report is intended to provide an overview of the current state of the literature on the relationship between social media; political polarization; and political “disinformation,” a term used to encompass a wide range of types of information about politics found online, including “fake news,” rumors, deliberately factually incorrect information, inadvertently factually incorrect information, politically slanted information, and “hyperpartisan” news. The review of the literature is provided in six separate sections, each of which can be read individually but that cumulatively are intended to provide an overview of what is known — and unknown — about the relationship between social media, political polarization, and disinformation. The report concludes by identifying key gaps in our understanding of these phenomena and the data that are needed to address them

Legends in liquid modernity: a critical discourse analysis of contemporary urban legends

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Inglês, Florianópolis, 2013.Abstract : Since the 1980's, Urban Legends (ULs) have been extensively studied by folklore studies (Brunvand, 1981, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2002), focusing on the role of these texts in society. Following the early focus on orally transmitted legends, more recent research has addressed the written format of ULs on the Internet (Genge, 2000; Noymer, 2001; Brednich, 2002; Dale, 2005; Lopes, 2007, 2008; DiFonzo & Bordia, 2007). In this context, the present research investigates textual and contextual features of contemporary ULs following the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2004), a multidisciplinary field to the study of texts that stresses the bidirectional relation between texts and contexts. The texts in this study are analyzed as a type of discourse and genre, examined in relation to specific lexicogrammatical features viz. TRANSITIVITY, MOOD and exponents of Modality (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004), and discussed both in terms of their immediate context of situation and of the broader context of culture. Besides, aspects of the representation of social practices, social actors and legitimation are explored applying van Leeuwen's (1996, 2008) sociosemantic categories. In order to discuss the sociological component of language in the data, I propose to look at these texts as social semiotic activities in a globalized context that Bauman has called Liquid Modernity (2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007a, 2007b, 2011a, 2011b). Results show that though relying on the narrative structure, contemporary Urban legends can be considered a type of hortatory discourse; the textual and contextual parameters allow the readers to identify with the victims' position, creating a virtual group of 'us' (possible victims) versus 'them' (deceivers), and the mundane, daily contemporary environments and social actions are represented as unsafe and fearful. Results also show that the writers/senders establish a degree of intimacy with the readers, rely on a series of legitimation techniques to manipulate belief in fabulous events and entice the re-transmission of the texts. Furthermore these stories can be seen as a social practice that represents and propagates the fears and insecurities which are characteristic of liquid modernity.Desde a década de 1980, as Lendas Urbanas (LUs) tem sido bastante estudadas pelos estudos de folclore (Brunvand, 1981, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2002), que focalizam o papel desses textos na sociedade. Seguindo o foco inicial em lendas transmitidas oralmente, pesquisas mais recentes têm abordado a forma escrita das LUs na Internet (Genge, 2000; Noymer, 2001; Brednich, 2002; Dale, 2005; Lopes, 2007, 2008; DiFonzo & Bordia, 2007). Nesse contexto, a pesquisa aqui apresentada investiga características textuais e contextuais de LUs contemporâneas seguindo a perspective da Análise Crítica do Discurso (Fairclough, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2004), uma área multidisciplinar para o estudo de textos que destaca a relação bidirecional entre textos e contextos. Os textos nesse estudo são analisados como um tipo de discurso e gênero, examinados em relação a características lexicogramaticais especificas viz. TRANSITIVIDADE, MODO e exponentes de Modalidade (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004), e discutidos tanto em relação ao contexto de situação imediato quanto ao contexto de cultura mais amplo. Além disso, aspectos da representação de práticas sociais, atores sociais e legitimação são explorados com a aplicação das categorias sociosemânticas de van Leeuwen (1996, 2008). Para a investigação do componente sociológico da linguagem nos dados, proponho que olhemos para estes textos como atividades socio-semióticas em um contexto globalizado a que Bauman se refere como Modernidade Líquida (2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007a, 2007b, 2011a, 2011b). Os resultados mostram que, apesar de ter como base a estrutura narrativa, as Lendas Urbanas contemporâneas podem ser consideradas um tipo de discurso exortativo; os parâmetros textuais e contextuais permitem ao leitor identificar-se com a posição de vítima, criando um grupo virtual de 'nós' (possíveis vítimas) versus 'eles' (enganadores) os ambientes e ações sociais mundanos, diários e contemporâneos são representados como inseguros e passíveis de medo. Os resultados também mostram que os autores/retransmissores estabelecem um grau de intimidade com os leitores, utilizam uma série de estratégias de legitimação para manipular a crença em eventos fabulosos e incitar a retransmissão dos textos. Além disso, essas estórias podem ser vistas como uma prática social que representa e propaga o medo e a insegurança que são característicos da modernidade líquida

Gender biases in fake news : how is gender employed in fake news against female candidates?

The objective of this study is to analyze how gender is employed in fake news against female candidates. Fake news is not an entirely new problem, however the internet has allowed for its extensive and quick diffusion, which presents new challenges. According to Shao et al. (2017) the widespread reach of fake news is a major global risk; in that it may affect election outcomes and threaten democracies. One of the ways an election result may be influenced, is if fake news containing gendered attacks against female candidates is widespread. Women pursuing high-level positions of power normally associated with men have often been the target of prejudice, because their candidacy goes against the gendered social norms still existent in our society (Manne, 2018). This leaves women in politics at a disadvantage from the beginning, given that men and women possessing the same attributes or carrying out the same kinds of actions may be perceived differently by voters or get a different reaction from the public (Manne, 2018). The 2016 U.S. presidential election, which was a turning point in terms of widespread concern over the impact of fake news in modern democracies, is used as a case study to investigate questions of gender biases in politics, and the portrayals of female candidates in fake news. This study uses a qualitative content analysis of over 100 fake news stories, independently verified as “false” by a fact-checking organization, that mention Hillary Clinton and/or Donald Trump, and that were spread in 2016, in order to identify potential gender-related patterns in the quantity, type or topic of the most shared fake news stories. The results of this study show that fake news content, disseminated during this time period, often played on gender biases already engrained in society to benefit or disparage different candidates. This study contributes to the fight against fake news, by helping show how gender is also being used in the fabrication of fake news content, to manipulate and influence social media users, and potentially impact election results. Existing gender stereotypes regarding political candidates seem to be used in fake news to hinder female candidates

Disinformation and Fact-Checking in Contemporary Society

Funded by the European Media and Information Fund and research project PID2022-142755OB-I00