The fake news during the covid-19 state of alarm. Analysis from the political point of view in the Spanish press

Abstract

Introduction: Since December 2019, when talk began in Spain about the coronavirus that was affecting China, rumors and vague news populated the world. When the disease reached Europe, the proliferation of information multiplied. Since the State of Alert was decreed, hoaxes and fake news have been a constant, which has been reflected in media reports. Methodology: This paper analyses the information published in the Spanish press about fake news related to politics, the controversial declarations of the Chief of Staff of the Guardia Civil and social networks; to know the volume of news and the treatment that the media has given to them. A mixed, qualitative/quantitative methodology has been used with the support of the MAXQDA 2020 tool. Results: After the analysis of 229 texts, it can be stated that the topic of which most information has been published about politics (48.47%), followed by social networks (28.8%) and the controversial statements of the Chief of Staff of the Guardia Civil (22.7%); although at all times the political debate has been present in the information. Discussion: This work opens a line of investigation on whether the spread of harmful information can be limited in a pandemic or whether freedom of expression is above it. Conclusions: The media on the ideological right have published more information with greater political content (73.87%), compared to the left-wing media with only 26.13%.