ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research was to analyse perceptions of the effects of disinformation from the perspective of different Spanish professionals from the fields of politics, journalism, and education. In addition, their point of view was contrasted with that of citizens (teachers and students) who were participants in a disinformation training programme.
This study was based on three research questions, within the European YouVerify! project, conducted under the framework of “Media Literacy for All”: What do participants believe are the most problematic impacts of disinformation? Who do participants believe are the key actors to implement measures against disinformation? If they could make decisions to combat disinformation and had the resources to implement them, what would be the first action they would take? The methodology was based on a mixed design using qualitative methods such as interviews (N = 10 professionals – politicians, journalists, teachers) and discourse analysis, and quantitative ones such as surveys (N = 187 Spanish citizens).
The results show that the political class, communication professionals, and educational agents agree that the aim of disinformation is to manipulate and mislead the population. The need for media and information literacy is seen as the first action to be considered, followed by the launching of more governmental awareness campaigns and better legislation.
