Abstract

WOLTER, Rafael Moura Coelho Pecly et al. Fake news in the Covid-19 pandemic: Conspiracy theories, alternative truths, and benevolent advice. Estud. psicol. (Natal) [online]. 2021, vol.26, n.2, pp. 207-218. ISSN 1413-294X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.22491/1678-4669.20210020.

The Covid-19 pandemic has created an informational tide in which rumors in the form of fake news disseminated by individual and official agency communications saturated people with sometimes contradictory messages. Grounded on the perspective of the social psychology of rumors, this study aimed to analyze the unique and differential characteristics of news proven to be fake news in order to obtain criteria for recognizing this phenomenon. We selected posts about Covid-19 shared on social networks by individuals (n = 100) and by official agencies (n = 100) verified as fake news on specialized sites (n = 100). A descending hierarchical classification was performed and fake news presented three singularities: emphasis on conspiracy theories, presentation of alternative truths to those of governments, and promotion of benevolent advice for the protection and cure of the disease. Such results allow the insertion of these characteristics into fake news search algorithms and the adaptation of the communication of official bodies, for the prevention of misinforming news.

Keywords : covid-19; fake news; rumors; social representations; social psychology.

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