The hoax pandemic: a comparative study of disinformation in the European Union

In the last decades, disinformation has multiplied exponentially in the European framework. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned the situation critical. Fake news has become a real public health problem, spreading even faster than real information. In this way, to tackle the hoax pandemic, the European Union has focused on self-regulation. Nevertheless, the rapid spread of disinformation, coupled with the lack of research on it, has led to widespread preoccupation about how to put an end to it. This research aims to conduct a comparative study of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic in EU countries. The objective of the investigation is to understand the nature of the disinformation, its evolution and trends in order to be able to fight against it. Thus, the raw material for analysis will be extracted from fact-checking media from different European countries, selected according to the media model classification suggested by Hallin and Mancini (2004). For this purpose, a methodological triangulation will be carried out based on a content analysis of European fact-checking media. As well as a case-oriented study of few countries. Likewise, in-deph interviews and a online survey will be carried out. From this research, feedback from the scientific/university academia is sought in order to broaden their knowledge of the disinformation phenomenon. Therefore, the results of this study have a clear European public service vocation.