(Re)constructing Professional Journalistic Practice in Mexico: Verificado’s Marketing of Legitimacy, Collaboration, and Pop Culture in Fact-Checking the 2018 Elections

Authors

  • Nadia I. Martínez-Carrillo Roanoke College
  • Daniel J. Tamul Virginia Tech

Keywords:

Verificado, misinformation, Mexico, elections, fact-checking

Abstract

Although fact-checking websites for political news such as FactCheck.org, Politifact, and ProPublica are common in the United States, they are new in Mexico. Using textual analysis, this study examines the strategies used by Verificado 2018, a crowdsourced political fact-checking initiative generated during the largest election in Mexican history by news organizations, universities, and tech companies. Verificado 2018 emphasized legitimacy, collaboration, and critical humor to promote and engage users in fact-checking and viralizing reliable information.

Author Biographies

Nadia I. Martínez-Carrillo, Roanoke College

Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication StudiesDepartment of English and Communication Studies(540) 375-2513

Daniel J. Tamul, Virginia Tech

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Communication(540) 231-3610

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Published

2019-06-14

Issue

Vol. 13 (2019)

Section

Articles

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