Approximation to the map on disinformation and verification research in Spain: state of affairs

Abstract

This article aims to launch a first academic approach to a map of research on disinformation in Spain. In order to accomplish this, literature on the subject in recent years was reviewed and a query was made on the database of the State Research Agency. This was performed under the section dedicated to grants, using the search keywords "disinformation", “verification”, “fake news”, “factchecking” and “fact checking”. Repetitions and those projects that were not relevant to the areas of Social Sciences, Law and Information and Communication Technologies were filtered out. Thus, 18 projects granted between 2018 and 2021 were analysed. The selection involved the aforementioned keywords, and the variables of the study included the university associated with the project, its budget, the area and sub-area and type of grant resulting from the query. The consultation was performed during the week of December 12th to 16th, 2022.  Among the results, the sum of over one million euros among all the projects belonging to all mentioned areas stands out. This accounts for an average of one hundred and six thousand euros per project, with the University of Vigo (three projects) and the University Carlos III, in Madrid, at the top of the ranking when it comes to this field of study. In terms of budget, the University of Cádiz, with one hundred and thirty-nine thousand euros, and the University of Vigo, with one hundred and thirty-eight thousand, six hundred euros, were the ones that received the biggest portion of funding in these calls.