Using video for fact-checking on Facebook. Analysis of the trend and reach of Ibero-American production (2016-2021)

Abstract

Social networks –and Facebook in particular– have become an important element of the information diet for millions of people around the world. By using them, the traditional media lose control of the distribution channel for their content, whose reach now depends, firstly, on the relevance criteria established by the networks themselves and, secondly, on the interactions generated by the audience with each publication. Very often research on journalism has tackled the issue of reach and how efficient fact-checkers are. To find answer to the sociodemographic features of their audiences or the characteristics of their posts are explored. However, factors such as the influence of the algorithms which choose the content users are shown on the social networks is not often dealt with. This article aims to contribute in both areas. Firstly, it offers a broad perspective on the publications of Ibero-American fact-checkers on Facebook between 2016 and 2021, focuses on the evolution of video production (n=9075) and on the views and engagement achieved by this format with respect to the rest, and relates them to changes in the News Feed algorithm. Secondly, it proposes a content analysis to identify formal and thematic elements in the most popular videos in the same period (n=414) and relates them to previous research. Our results show significant similarities in popular videos, but also changes in video production, a generalized decrease in the ratio of views and a drop in the interaction rate more accentuated than in all the publications of the period. Although the focus of this research does not allow us to make direct causal inferences, the trends identified coincide with the changes in the Facebook News Feed algorithm that were made public in those years.