Spanish-speaking fact checkers around the world: Profiles, similarities and differences among fact checking professionals

Abstract

Professional fact-checkers are becoming essential for the control of information and disinformation flows. However, their profile has been scarcely studied both internationally and particularly, in the Spanish-speaking context. Fact-checking is now a global journalism movement, after being consolidated in Anglo-Saxon countries, and has become a key for understanding current mediated informative and communicative processes that take place in democracies around the world. Spanish-speaking fact-checking is growing exponentially in recent years, with an increase of more than 500% in the number of active platforms since 2018. Studying the profile of Spanish-speaking fact-checkers is crucial to understand the phenomenon in a context of constant convergence such as the Hispanic American. A survey (n=52) was conducted among Spanish-speaking fact-checkers to analyze their perception of fact-checking’s link to journalism, the level of collaboration among platforms, as well as similitudes and differences between Spanish and Latin American professionals. After that, results are enriched through 13 in-depth interviews with fact-checking professionals and academic experts.