Filter by author: Luisa Massarani

In this article, we aim to carry out a literature review of studies carried out in Latin America on misinformation and scientific dissemination, in particular academic articles on this theme. Our corpus consisted of 142 articles, identified in the databases Scopus, Web of Science, Dimensions and Scielo. The results show that Brazil is the main stage of these analyses and appears in 65.5% of the corpus. It points to a concentration of research published from 2020, which correlate with the Covid-19 pandemic, being this the most studied theme (69.0%). The articles address digital social network studies (35.2%) and media studies (33.1%). We discuss the need to strengthen research among Latin American countries as a way to understand the specific nature of the circulation of scientific misinformation in the region and structure better ways to address it.

Disinformation is not a recent phenomenon, but it gained strength in the 2010s and expanded its dimension with the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the fields of science and health. This context has contributed to an increase in studies related to Disinformation in the context of science and health dissemination at a global level, but also in our region. This led us to open a call for this special issue on Disinformation and dissemination of science and health in Latin America, which we present in this editorial.

We analyzed 95,970 stories on COVID-19 published in 2020 by newspapers in US, UK, China and Brazil — countries marked by controversial management of the crisis. Through a text mining approach, we identified main topics, subjects, actors and the level of attention. The coverage was politicized in “The New York Times” and “Folha de S. Paulo”; focused on health aspects in “The Guardian”; and emphasized the economic situation in “China Daily”. In this sense, the pandemic has motivated a deeper approach to the multiple dimensions of science and health, pointing to a broader perspective of science communication.

In this commentary, we discuss the challenges associated with carrying out research in science communication in Latin America. We start with the ‘‘invisibility’’ of Latin American studies in the three most prominent international journals in the field (although there has been a growing number of studies in the region). Then, we look to the recent popularisation of science through social media, the political issues facing the region and the massive spread of disinformation and fake news, which has been widely accentuated by the pandemic. We argue that there is an urgent need but also opportunities for innovation and collaborative research in science communication. Finally, we call attention to how the present situation might lead to bigger gaps among researchers from the developing world, including Latin America, and the so-called developed world.

The article presents the results of a survey of science journalists from six world regions about their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The responses show perception of increasing workload for most participants. Local scientists and peer-reviewed articles are the main sources. According to the respondents, scientists have become more available during the pandemic. The use of preprint articles was a frequent practice, but a considerable proportion declared they did not adopt different procedures when reporting them. Most also said they take fake news into account when writing their stories.

Nesta edição de ‘JCOM América Latina’ concentramos nossos esforços em discutir controvérsias e divulgação científica, reunindo sete textos. São cinco artigos, um ensaio e uma resenha de livro provenientes de autores da Argentina, do Brasil, da Colômbia e do México. A edição conta com a participação de Martha Marandino, que integra o comitê editorial de ‘JCOM América Latina’ e é pesquisadora da Universidade de São Paulo, e Marina Ramalho e Silva, pesquisadora da Casa de Oswaldo Cruz da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, além de Luisa Massarani, editora de ‘JCOM América Latina’.

Neste artigo, realizamos um levantamento de natureza exploratória a fim de identificar e analisar estudos que discutem divulgação científica e controvérsias no contexto da América Latina. A partir de uma busca em repositórios científicos ‘online’ foram coletados 105 artigos acadêmicos, publicados individualmente ou em colaboração por um total de 191 autores. Os temas mais recorrentes são mudanças climáticas, transgênicos e células-tronco. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam que os estudos na área estão dispersos e distribuídos em diversas revistas acadêmicas, com 90% das revistas publicando somente um artigo sobre controvérsias e divulgação científica entre os anos 2000 e 2020.

A democratização e o fácil acesso a informação trazem um desafio: o aumento do número e da velocidade da circulação de notícias falsas. Neste artigo, estudamos a recepção de notícias de saúde e a importância dada ao nome do veículo de publicação pelos leitores, bem como motivações para o compartilhamento de tais notícias. Realizamos um estudo exploratório utilizando uma metodologia mista, com um rastreador ocular e um questionário, com 23 participantes. Eles leram quatro textos diferentes, dois críveis e dois com características de notícias falsas. A análise de 24.098 fixações oculares e as respostas aos questionários mostram a pouca importância dada ao nome do veículo e, também, a pouca influência desta informação na decisão de compartilhar os textos. Nossos dados indicam que notícias falsas são compartilhadas por questões subjetivas ligadas sobretudo ao tema do texto, sem preocupação com sua credibilidade.

As COVID-19 continues its devastating pathway across the world, in this second part of the JCOM special issue on communicating COVID-19 and coronavirus we present further research papers and practice insights from across the world that look at specific national challenges, the issue of “fake news” and the possibilities of satire and humour in communicating the seriousness of the deadly disease.