Topics (Disinformation)

The topic variable is used in research on disinformation to analyze thematic differences the content of false news, rumors, conspiracies, etc. Those topics are frequently based national news agendas, i.e. producers address current or world events (e.g. elections, immigration, etc.) (Humprecht, 2019). Field application/theoretical foundation: Topics a central yet under-researched aspect online (Freelon & Wells, 2020). interest find out which taken up and spread by producers. focus this both specific key for sub-themes identified climate change, Covid-19) and, more generally, question misleading disseminated (mostly social media). Methodologically, identification often first step followed further analysis (Ferrara, 2017). Thus, linked detection disinformation, represents methodological challenge. can be inductively deductively. Inductive analyses use data corpus, example media data, try identify using techniques such as modelling Boberg et al., Deductive lists classify contents. initially created literature respective with help databases, e.g. fact-checkers. References/combination other methods collection: Studies manual automated combinations investigate occurrence different texts (Boberg 2020; Bradshaw, Howard, Kollanyi, Neudert, deductive approaches have been combined qualitative text categories subsequently coded 2019; Marchal, Example studies: Ferrara (2017); Humprecht (2019), Marchal al. (2019) Table 1. Summary selected studies Author(s) Sample Values Reliability (2017) Content type: Tweets Sampling period: April 27, 2017 May 7, 201 size: 16.65 million tweets Sampling: List 23 words top 20 hashtags Keywords: France2017, Marine2017, AuNomDuPeuple, FrenchElection, FrenchElections, Macron, LePen, MarineLePen, FrenchPresidentialElection, JeChoisisMarine, JeVoteMarine, JeVoteMacron JeVote, Presidentielle2017, ElectionFracaise, JamaisMacron, Macron2017, EnMarche, MacronPresident Hashtags: #Macron, #Presidentielle2017, #fn, #JeVote, #LePen, #France, #2017LeDebat, #MacronLeaks, #Marine2017, #debat2017, #2017LeDébat, #MacronGate, #MarineLePen, #Whirlpool, #EnMarche, #JeVoteMacron, #MacronPresident, #JamaisMacron, #FrenchElection - fact checks Outlet/ country: 2 checkers per country (AT, DE, UK, US) June 1, 2016 September 30, N=651 Unit analysis: story/ fact-check No. coded: main Level fact-checker conspiracy theory, education, election campaign, environment, government/public administration (at time when story was published), health, immigration/integration, justice/crime, labor/employment, macroeconomics/economic regulation, media/journalism, science/ technology, war/terror, others Krippen-dorff’s alpha = 0.71 related European elections 2019 English, Catalan, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish criteria: (1) contained at least one relevant hashtags; (2) hashtag URL shared, title its webpage; (3) were retweet message that mention original message; (4) quoted tweet referring 5 April, 584,062 from 187,743 unique users Religion Islam (Muslim, Islam, Hijab, Halal, Muslima, Minaret) Christianity (Christianity, Church, Priest) Immigration (Asylum Seeker, Refugee, Migrants, Child Migrant, Dual Citizenship, Social Integration) Terrorism (ISIS, Djihad, Terrorism, Terrorist Attack) Political Figures/Parties (Vladimir Putin, Enrico Mezzetti, Emmanuel ANPI, Arnold van Doorn, Islamic Party Unity, Nordic Resistance Movement) Celebrities (Lara Trump, Alba Parietti) Crime (Vandalism, Rape, Sexual Assault, Fraud, Murder, Honour Killing) Notre-Dame Fire (Notre-Dame Fire, Reconstruction) Ideology (Anti-Fascism, Fascism, Nationalism) Issues (Abortion, Bullying, Birth Rate) References Boberg, S., Quandt, T., Schatto-Eckrodt, Frischlich, L. (2020). Pandemic Populism: Facebook Pages Alternative News Media Corona Crisis -- A Computational Analysis, 2019. Retrieved http://arxiv.org/abs/2004.02566 P. N., B., M. Sourcing Automation Information over United States, 2016-2018. Communication, 37(2), 173–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2019.1663322 Ferrara, E. (2017). Disinformation bot operations run French presidential election. First Monday, 22(8). https://doi.org/10.5210/FM.V22I8.8005 Freelon, D., C. Communication. 145–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2020.1723755 Humprecht, (2019). Where ‘fake news’ flourishes: comparison across four Western democracies. Communication Society, 22(13), 1973–1988. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1474241 L., N. Junk During EU Parliamentary Elections?: Lessons Seven-Language Study Twitter Facebook. Oxford, UK. https://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/93/2019/05/EU-Data-Memo.pdf