| Title | The global spread of misinformation on spiders |
| Abstract | In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge. Here, we studied the global spread of (mis-)information on spiders using a high-resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider-human interactions, covering stories of spider-human encounters and biting events published from 2010-2020. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider-related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation. |
| Source | Current biology 32 (16), pp. R871–R873 |
| Keywords | Spiders; Media; Newspapers |
| Journal | Current biology |
| Editor | Current Biology,, London, Regno Unito |
| Year | 2022 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026 |
| Authors | Mammola, Stefano; Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba; Arabesky, Valeria; Barrales-Alcalá, Diego Alejandro; Barrion-Dupo, Aimee Lynn; Benamú, Marco Antonio; Bird, Tharina L.; Bogomolova, Maria; Cardoso, Pedro; Chatzaki, Maria; Cheng, Ren Chung; Chu, Tien Ai; Classen-Rodríguez, Leticia M.; ?upi?, Iva; Dhiya'ulhaq, Naufal Urfi; Drapeau Picard, André Philippe; El-Hennawy, Hisham K.; Elverici, Mert; Fukushima, Caroline S.; Ganem, Zeana; Gavish-Regev, Efrat; Gonnye, Naledi T.; Hacala, Axel; Haddad, Charles R.; Hesselberg, Thomas; Tian Ho, Tammy Ai; Into, Thanakorn; Isaia, Marco; Jayaraman, Dharmaraj; Karuaera, Nanguei; Khalap, Rajashree; Khalap, Kiran; Kim, Dongyoung; Korhonen, Tuuli; Kralj-Fi?er, Simona; Land, Heidi; Lin, Shou Wang; Loboda, Sarah; Lowe, Elizabeth; Lubin, Yael; Martínez, Alejandro; Mbo, Zingisile; Mili?i?, Marija; Kioko, Grace Mwende; Nanni, Veronica; Norma-Rashid, Yusoff; Nwankwo, Daniel; Painting, Christina J.; Pang, Aleck; Pantini, Paolo; Pavlek, Martina; Pearce, Richard; Petcharad, Booppa; Pétillon, Julien; Raberahona, Onjaherizo Christian; Russo, Philip; Saarinen, Joni A.; Segura-Hernández, Laura; Sentenská, Lenka; Uhl, Gabriele; Walker, Leilani; Warui, Charles M.; Wi?niewski, Konrad; Zamani, Alireza; Chuang, Angela; Scott, Catherine |
| Text | 470596 2022 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026 Scopus 2 s2.0 85136139565 Spiders; Media; Newspapers The global spread of misinformation on spiders Mammola, Stefano; Malumbres Olarte, Jagoba; Arabesky, Valeria; Barrales Alcala, Diego Alejandro; Barrion Dupo, Aimee Lynn; Benamu, Marco Antonio; Bird, Tharina L.; Bogomolova, Maria; Cardoso, Pedro; Chatzaki, Maria; Cheng, Ren Chung; Chu, Tien Ai; Classen Rodriguez, Leticia M.; upi , Iva; Dhiya ulhaq, Naufal Urfi; Drapeau Picard, Andre Philippe; El Hennawy, Hisham K.; Elverici, Mert; Fukushima, Caroline S.; Ganem, Zeana; Gavish Regev, Efrat; Gonnye, Naledi T.; Hacala, Axel; Haddad, Charles R.; Hesselberg, Thomas; Tian Ho, Tammy Ai; Into, Thanakorn; Isaia, Marco; Jayaraman, Dharmaraj; Karuaera, Nanguei; Khalap, Rajashree; Khalap, Kiran; Kim, Dongyoung; Korhonen, Tuuli; Kralj Fi er, Simona; Land, Heidi; Lin, Shou Wang; Loboda, Sarah; Lowe, Elizabeth; Lubin, Yael; Martinez, Alejandro; Mbo, Zingisile; Mili i , Marija; Kioko, Grace Mwende; Nanni, Veronica; Norma Rashid, Yusoff; Nwankwo, Daniel; Painting, Christina J.; Pang, Aleck; Pantini, Paolo; Pavlek, Martina; Pearce, Richard; Petcharad, Booppa; Petillon, Julien; Raberahona, Onjaherizo Christian; Russo, Philip; Saarinen, Joni A.; Segura Hernandez, Laura; Sentenska, Lenka; Uhl, Gabriele; Walker, Leilani; Warui, Charles M.; Wi niewski, Konrad; Zamani, Alireza; Chuang, Angela; Scott, Catherine University of Novi Sad, BioSense Institute; Murang a University of Technology; Botswana International University of Science and Technology; Écosystemes, Biodiversite, Évolution; Federal University, Oye Ekiti; Institute of Biological Sciences; Erzincan Binali Y ld r m Üniversitesi; National Museum of Namibia; Instituto de Investigaciones Biologicas Clemente Estable; Universidad de la Republica; University of the Philippines Los Banos; Universitas Gadjah Mada; McGill University, Macdonald Campus; National Museums of Kenya; Universidade dos Açores; Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Democritus University of Thrace; Znanstvenoraziskovalni center Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; St. Louis University; Ben Gurion University of the Negev; University of Oxford; Auckland University of Technology; Luonnontieteellinen Keskusmuseo; University of Pretoria; Universitat Greifswald; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Macquarie University; National Chung Hsing University; National University of Singapore; University of Toronto; University of the Free State; The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Akademia Pomorska w S upsku; School of Biological Sciences; Thammasat University; Universita degli Studi di Torino; University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences; Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Nelson Mandela University; Turun yliopisto; The University of Auckland; The University of Waikato; Ajou University; Institute Ruder Boskovic; University in Midreshet Ben Gurion; Sri Vijay Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science; Freelance translator; Serket; SBS Marg; University of Antananrivo; Science; Warwickshire College; Independent Researcher; Ditsong National Museum of Natural History; Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali E. Caffi ; Insectarium de Montreal; Croatian Biospeleological Society In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge. Here, we studied the global spread of mis information on spiders using a high resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider human interactions, covering stories of spider human encounters and biting events published from 2010 2020. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation. 32 Published version http //www.scopus.com/record/display.url eid=2 s2.0 85136139565 origin=inward Published version 2022_MAMMOLA ET AL Current Biology_Main_Supp.pdf Articolo in rivista Current Biology, 0960 9822 Current biology Current biology Curr. biol. Current biology. CB. Current biology stefano.mammola MAMMOLA STEFANO alejandro.martinezgarcia MARTINEZ GARCIA ALEJANDRO |
