Is it true? Mapping the fact-checking projects in Portugal

English

Event
COMRED_2020:     I Congreso Internacional Comunicación y Redes Sociales en la Sociedad de la Información
02/06/2020

Keywords
Fact-checking disinformation; Portugal

Fake news and disinformation have been a constant presence for long. Nevertheless, it was during the 20th century that journalism was established as a beacon of truth and democracy. People learned that they should trust journalism. However, the end of the mass media monopoly caused by the rise of the new prosumer altered the flows and power relations in the media ecosystem. Shifts in production and consumption that led media to a crisis are only a part of a major change in information today. Disinformation and infoxication are now intrinsic elements of communication. Fact-checking initiatives have been one of the answers to the problem. Either created by media companies or by the civil society, they are fueling the discussion on how journalism may be losing its foundations: skeptical revision of sources and emancipatory nature of knowledge. This exploratory study aims to map the fact-checking initiatives in Portugal. Through online documental search and analysis, we identify and characterize the existing initiatives in Portugal and reflect on the diverse nature of these projects. This paper deepens our knowledge on the diversity and importance of fact-checking projects and promotes a discussion on the role of journalism in today’s society.