[Commlist] CfA Special Issue 16.2: disinformation, fact-checking and civic responsibility

Call for Articles Issue 16.2

15 October 2023: deadline for abstract submission
15 January 2024: deadline for full proposals (selected abstracts)

Guest Editors:

Dr Ruth Rodríguez-Martínez (Pompeu Fabra University)
Dr María-Ángeles Chaparro-Domínguez (Complutense University of Madrid)
Dr Fernando Oliveira Paulino ((University of Brasilia)
Dr Marcel Mauri-Rios (Pompeu Fabra University)
Dr Xavier Ramon (Pompeu Fabra University)

DISINFORMATION, FACT-CHECKING AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY

WHY THIS ISSUE NOW?
Disinformation is a global problem affecting institutions, media and 
citizenry, which are all immersed in "fake news culture" (Magallón-Rosa, 
2019, p. 23). According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, the countries 
most concerned by this phenomenon currently include Spain, Colombia, 
Mexico, Argentina and Brazil (Edelman, 2022). The loss of trust in and 
influence of the media and exposure to all types of messages on social 
networks in recent years have acted as a catalyst for disinformation, 
which has become a major journalistic challenge (Herrero and 
Herrera-Damas, 2021). The global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic 
has also provided fertile ground for the spread of disinformation 
(Mauri-Rios, Ramon-Vegas and Rodríguez-Martínez, 2020).
In order to combat this global phenomenon, fact-checking platforms have 
proliferated in the last decade outside the mass media, as the media 
itself has occasionally been a purveyor of hoaxes, albeit sometimes 
inadvertently (García-Galera et al., 2020; Cherubini and Graves, 2016). 
Two factors explain the rise of fact-checkers, according to Stencel and 
Luther (2020): the extraordinary surge in disinformation on social media 
and Google, both of which have been appealing for the help of 
fact-checking platforms to curb it; and the proliferation of 
partnerships between these platforms and traditional media, particularly 
during electoral processes. As with disinformation, fact-checking is a 
global phenomenon (Graves, 2018).
However, it is not only verification platforms that are tackling 
disinformation; media and education institutions worldwide are also 
implementing actions to help citizens discern fake content from 
legitimate content and thus foment their critical thinking skills 
(Vizoso and Vázquez-Herrero, 2019). Various initiatives are also being 
developed in other fields, such as newsgames (García-Ortega and 
García-Avilés, 2021; Gómez-García and Carrillo-Vera, 2020).


TOPICS
This monograph invites researchers from the international context to 
submit studies addressing this global phenomenon, formulas to prevent 
its spread and social impact from different thematic, geographical, 
theoretical and methodological approaches. We welcome, for example, 
comparative research between countries (with particular attention to the 
"Global South"), systematic reviews, case studies or new theoretical 
proposals aimed at some of the key aspects of this far-reaching issue. 
As this is a multidisciplinary topic, contributions will be accepted 
both from the communication field and from other related fields such as 
education, sociology, psychology, economics and other related 
disciplines. They are invited to submit full articles and viewpoints on 
topics that may include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Epistemology of verification and fact-checking.
- Dynamics, methodologies, sources and supports for content verification.
- Fact-checkers' professional competences and challenges.
- Ethics and best practices for content verification.
- Fact-checking within the media.
- Independent content verification platforms.
- Newsgames as a tool for combating disinformation.
- Disinformation platforms (junk news).
- New business models related to fact-checking.
- Socio-political implications of disinformation.
- Journalistic and social challenges of fact-checking.
- Fact-checking before global phenomena such as the climate crisis or 
COVID-19.
- Journalistic perception of disinformation and fact-checking.
- Citizen perception of disinformation and fact-checking.
- Media literacy actions to counter disinformation.
- Content verification, user-generated content and citizen journalism.

Research articles should be 6,000 words in length, while Viewpoint 
articles should not exceed 3,000 words (including notes and references). 
The editors will carry out a preliminary selection of abstracts.

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
15 October 2023: deadline for abstracts
Abstract (maximum 500 words), title and selected biography, along with a 
150-200 word author’s short bio (including your affiliation and contact 
information) should be sent to Ruth Rodriguez ((ruth.rodriguez /at/ upf.edu) 
<mailto:(ruth.rodriguez /at/ upf.edu)>) and Marian Chaparro ((ma.chaparro /at/ ucm.es) 
<mailto:(ma.chaparro /at/ ucm.es)>)
1 November: Editors’ decision on selected abstracts
15 January 2024: deadline for full articles

Full articles, based on the selected abstracts, should be submitted on 
the Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies web platform by 
15 January 2024, following the Author Guidelines.

30 May 2024: final decision letters
Fall 2024: issue published

All selected contributions will be subjected to double blind peer 
review, except for the Viewpoint articles, which will be evaluated by 
the Editors.
No payment from the authors will be required at any stage of the process.


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