The verification of hoaxes related to feminism: an analysis of denials about gender published in Maldita.es and Newtral

Abstract

The circulation of misinformation increased by 365% in 2017 according to the report Approaching the Future (2018). In 2019, almost a third of the queries received by Maldita.es media corresponded to gender issues, according to the same report. This research aims to study, through the analysis of the denials on gender issues published in the sections of the media dedicated to the Spanish verification Newtral and Maldito Feminismo and the perception of expert journalists, the transit of falsehoods around women’s equality. The results show how most hoaxes resort to the myth of false reports of gender violence and manipulate official data to question the usefulness of the Law against Gender Violence. They are mainly disseminated through social networks, messaging channels and pseudo-media and, for the most part, can be verified by resorting to easily accessible documentary sources open to the public.