Limitations of Fact-Checking on Debunking COVID-19 Misinformation on Facebook: the Case of Faktograf.hr

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of fact-checking to curb misinformation about COVID-19 spread through social media which has been considered the main channels for spreading misinformation in general (Newman et al., 2021). Using computational methods combined with content analysis, we analyzed Faktograf’s fact-checks on COVID-19 (N=211) published between July 2020 and March 2021. Using a selected sample, we compared the debunked and misinformed versions of the same story based on the main elements of the communication process: source, channel, message, and recipient, to measure their estimated effectiveness in combating “infodemics”. The main findings show that the practice of fact-checking websites to publish debunking content on their own websites and to use social media to disseminate debunking content is insufficient.