Perceptions of accountability and measures to combat disinformation: An analysis of the Andalusian population

Main Article Content

Ana Maria Zafra Arroyo

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse Andalusian citizens’ perceptions of the measures that should be taken by public authorities to combat disinformation, and the actors who should be responsible for combating this phenomenon. Stratified sampling was applied to ensure the representativeness of the resident population of Andalusia, aged 15 and over. The fieldwork was carried out by a polling company in December 2023 and 1,550 people were interviewed. The results reveal significant differences were found in the perception of responsibility in the fight against disinformation according to age, political ideology and level of education. Overall, the media and the national government are seen as the main actors in mitigating fake news. Among the proposed measures, platform regulation and the prevention of abuse by actors who disseminate false content online receive the highest levels of support. These findings point to a prevailing preference for interventionist approaches and greater platform oversight rather than deregulation. However, citizens’ preferences do not fully align with the current regulatory framework. The regional focus of the study, together with the analysis of socio-demographic differences, highlights the gap between public preferences and existing regulatory approaches and provides relevant insights for the development of future public policies on disinformation.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Zafra Arroyo, A. M. (2026). Perceptions of accountability and measures to combat disinformation: An analysis of the Andalusian population. AdComunica, (31), 249–272. https://doi.org/10.6035/adcomunica.9028
Section
Otras investigaciones

References

Aubin, Christopher y Liedke, Jacob (2023). ­Most Americans favor restrictions on false information, violent content online. Pew Research Center. http://bit.ly/3WCMYeP. [Consulta: 12 de diciembre de 2024].

Badillo-Matos, Ángel, Arteaga, Féliz et al. (2023). Analysis of the Impact of Disinformation on Political, Economic, Social and Security Issues, Governance Models and Good Practices: The cases of Spain and Portugal. Pamplona: IBERIFIER. https://doi.org/10.15581/026.002

Barnes, Joe (2023) EU accused of introducing ‘Orwellian ministry of truth’ to tackle fake online news. The Telegrapfh. https://bit.ly/3WL7Mkr. [Consulta: 6 de diciembre de 2024].

BBC News Mundo (2024). Zuckerberg: el jefe de Facebook se disculpa ante las familias de los niños que han sufrido daños por culpa de las redes sociales. BBC News Mundo. https://bit.ly/417KR5L. [Consulta: 7 de diciembre de 2024].

Belavusau, Uladzislau (2012). Fighting Hate Speech Through EU Law. En: Amsterdam Law Forum Vol 4, nº 1, 20–35. https://bit.ly/4hBha28

Brogi, Elda y De Gregorio, Giovanni (2024). From the code of practice to the code of conduct? Navigating the future challenges of disinformation regulation. En: Journal of Media Law, Vol 16, nº 1, 38-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2024.2362480

Carrillo Franco, Carmen (2023). Las Libertades De expresión E información En El Contexto Digital. En Estudios De Deusto, Vol 71, nº 2. 51-89. https://doi.org/10.18543/ed.2927.

Casero-Ripollés, Andreu, Tuñón, Jorge y Bouza-García, Luis (2023). The European approach to online disinformation: geopolitical and regulatory dissonance. En: Humanit Soc Sci Commun, Vol 10, nº 657 . https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02179-8

Crespo-Martínez, Ismael, Melero-López, Inmaculada, Mora-Rodríguez, Alberto, y Rojo-Martínez, José Miguel (2024). Política, uso de medios y polarización afectiva en España. En: Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación/Mediterranean Journal of Communication, Vol 15, nº 2 https://www.doi.org/10.14198/MEDCOM.26681

European Commission. (2020). Attitudes towards the impact of digitalisation on daily lives (Special Eurobarometer 503). Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology. https://bit.ly/4hk2Lrh. [Consulta: 18 de diciembre de 2024].

Fung, Brian y Cole, Devan (2023). Biden administration defends communications with social media companies in high-stakes court fight. CNN. https://bit.ly/4gpaOCb. [Consulta: 7 de diciembre de 2024].

Gomes, André y Sultan, Aysel (2024). Problematizing content moderation by social media platforms and its impact on digital harm reduction. Harm Reduction Journal, vol 21, nº1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-024-01104-9

Grupo de Entidades Reguladoras Europeas de los Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual. (2021). Notions of disinformation and related concepts. ERGA. https://bit.ly/4jI6QXQ. [Consulta: 12 de diciembre de 2024].

Husovec, Martin (2024). The Digital Services Act’s red line: what the Commission can and cannot do about disinformation. En: Journal of Media Law, Vol 16, nº 1. 47-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2024.2362483

Ipsos Global (2023). Trustworthiness Index. https://bit.ly/4jI6Bfo. [Consulta: 7 de diciembre de 2024].

Jiménez, Miguel (2024). Estados Unidos emprende una amplia investigación contra Microsoft por monopolio. El País. https://bit.ly/4hENqRZ. [Consulta: 12 de diciembre de 2024].

Jungherr, Andreas (2024). Foundational questions for the regulation of digital disinformation. En: Journal of Media Law, Vol 16, nº 1. 8-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2024.2362484

Kalliris, Konstantinos. (2024). Online harm, free speech, and the ‘legal but harmful’ debate: an interest-based approach. En: Journal of Media Law, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2024.2425547

Liy Vidal, Macarena (2024). Los jueces federales dan el visto bueno a prohibir TikTok en EE UU si su propietaria china no la vende. El País. https://bit.ly/3EhbThM [Consulta: 12 de diciembre de 2024].

Masip, Pere, Suau, Jaume et al. (2020). Percepciones sobre medios de comunicación y desinformación: ideología y polarización en el sistema mediático español. En: Profesional De La información, Vol 29, nº 5. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2020.sep.27

Moreno, Merce (2024). Pablo Motos, demoledor en «El hormiguero» sobre Pedro Sánchez y “la democracia”: “Me da miedo su idea de país”. elconfidencial.com. https://bit.ly/3Cyqy7O. [Consulta: 18 de diciembre de 2024].

Mourão, Rachel y Robertson, Craig (2019). Fake News as Discursive Integration: An Analysis of Sites That Publish False, Misleading, Hyperpartisan and Sensational Information. En Journalism Studies, Vol 20, nº 14 2077–2095. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2019.1566871

Neely, Brett (2020). NPR Poll: Majority Of Americans Believe Trump Encourages Election Interference. NPR. https://bit.ly/3PXPp8a. [Consulta: 2 de enero de 2025].

Ó Fathaigh, Ronan, Helberger, Natali y Appelman, Naomi (2021). The perils of legally defining disinformation. En: Internet Policy Review, Vol 10, nº 4. https://doi.org/10.14763/2021.4.1584

Park, Kirsty y Culloty, Eilen (2022, November). Beyond Performative Transparency: Lessons Learned from the EUCode of Practice On Disinformation. Paper presented at AoIR 2022: The 23rdAnnual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Dublin, Ireland: AoIR. https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2022i0.13067

Peukert, Alexander (2024). The regulation of disinformation: a critical appraisal. Journal of Media Law, 16(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/17577632.2024.2362485. [Consulta: 7 de diciembre de 2025].

De Miguel, Bernardo (2025.). Musk y Zuckerberg desafían las regulaciones de la Unión Europea. Agenda Pública. https://bit.ly/42xoKGS. [Consulta: 9 de enero de 2025].

Del Monte, Micaela y Faucheux, Titouan (2024). Protection of journalists in the European Union (No. PE 766.244; pp. 1-10). European Parliamentary Research Service. https://bit.ly/42CBdZG

Muñoz, Cristobal, Moraga, Ángel, y Rivas, David (2024). La Generación Z frente a la desinformación: percepciones y prácticas en la era digital. En: Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, Vol 30, nº 3, 517-529. https://doi.org/10.5209/emp.96511

Reporters Without Borders (2018). Online harassment of journalists: the trolls attack. RSF. https://bit.ly/42ztTyd. [Consulta: 12 de diciembre de 2025].

Rucinska, Silvia, Fecko, Miroslav y Mital, Ondrej (2023). Trust in public institutions in the age of disinformation. Proceedings of the Central and Eastern European eDem and eGov Days 2023, 111-117. https://doi.org/10.1145/3603304.3604075

Sardo, Donald, Brugnoli, Emanuele et al. (2024). From Trust to Disagreement: disentangling the interplay of Misinformation and Polarisation in the News Ecosystem (No. arXiv:2401.12053). arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2401.12053

Teruel Rodríguez, Laura y Zafra Arroyo, Ana (2022). La lucha contra la desinformación en Twitter y en la prensa: el debate en torno al #Ministeriodelaverdad en España. En: Observatorio (OBS*), Vol 16, nº 3. https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS16320222076

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, y ACHPR Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information. (2017). Joint declaration on freedom of expression and “fake news”, disinformation and propaganda. https://bit.ly/4gqzg67. https://bit.ly/3EhbThM [Consulta: 7 de diciembre de 2024].