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Twitter data are used as alternative metrics (altmetrics) to measure the impact or attention of research. Tweets are used to communicate about papers. However, Twitter data can only be used for research evaluation purposes, if biases do not influence tweet decisions on papers. The existence of biases can only be reasonably investigated using an experimental design with controlled (marginal) manipulations. In this comment, we propose to undertake an experimental approach to study the decision of scientists to ‘tweet’ on a paper. We describe the design of a study that might allow the experimental investigation of tweet decisions including randomized variations and theoretically derived mechanisms for explaining the empirical results. The described study design should be adaptable to other social media platforms (e.g., Facebook or ResearchGate). This comment is intended to be a plea for using an experimental design to investigate biases in tweet decisions. It is an advantage of tweets –in contrast to citations– that an experimental approach can be applied to investigate the decision of scientists to communicate on papers.

Given user choices and the commercial offerings of internet providers, WhatsApp has increasingly become established as a new standard for communication by audio, image, and text. This paper explores the role of misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic by using content disseminated through WhatsApp, thereby making three main contributions: a discussion about the potential shift toward nontextual and nonvisual forms of misinformation; the new social role of audio, namely related to the critique of policies and political actors during the early stage of the Covid-19 pandemic; and the questioning of the First Draft News disinformation conceptual model by proposing a complementary approach that focuses only on factuality. Conclusions were drawn after conducting a content analysis of 988 units of Covid-19-related audio files, images, videos, and texts shared via WhatsApp during the early stage of the pandemic. A typology was identified to address distinct claims that focus on five different topics (society, policy and politics, health science, pandemic, and other), as well as audio messaging trending as a novel format for spreading misinformation. The results help us to contextualize and discuss a potential shift toward nontextual and nonvisual forms of misinformation, reflecting the increasing adoption of the audio format among WhatsApp users and making WhatsApp a fertile environment for the circulation and dissemination of misinformation regarding Covid-19-related themes. In a society characterized by the rapid consumption of information, the idea that content must have a degree of falsehood to mislead is an indicator of the distance between theoretical models and social reality. This indicator is important to identify true content as potential misinformation on the basis of its factuality. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This paper focusses on the use of technology to improve democracy, comparing the cases of Estonia and Catalonia. Both examples are closely related in their use of technology to further democratize the decision-making processes, but have opposite starting points. Estonia’s internet voting system is an offshoot of the comprehensive e-governance system developed by the Estonian government. It is meant to make it more convenient for people to vote and, thus, easier for them to take part in elections. In Catalonia, the online participation system Decidim, initially set up in the city of Barcelona, represents a bottom-up project that emerged from the 15 May protests and aims to make the representative democratic system more direct and participatory. In our comparison we approach both paradigmatic cases from a theoretical reflection on the ideal types of democracy in relation to how decisions are made and by whom. Both projects have evolved and integrated new features that draw them together. First, internet voting is able to reach wider portions of society and digitally transform the Public Administration. Second, online participation platforms increase the potential for collecting citizens’ proposals and enriching discussions. These features make them more like a mixed model which, in the current model of representative democracy, creates spaces for a more direct and deliberative democracy.

En las sociedades democráticas los medios de comunicación juegan un papel clave como elemento facilitador de la conexión entre los poderes políticos y la ciudadanía. La percepción pública de la reputación mediática puede suponer un factor clave para fortalecer la confianza y activar el compromiso ciudadano. Este artículo presenta un estudio de la reputación de la prensa en papel, la prensa digital, la radio y la televisión en 10 países europeos: Austria, Bélgica, Francia, Alemania, Italia, Polonia, Portugal, Rumanía, Suecia y Reino Unido. El análisis desarrollado sigue una metodología empírica, basada en la realización de una encuesta para conocer la reputación atribuida a los medios de comunicación por parte de una muestra de la población informada de esos países (1000 residentes, mayores de edad, usuarios de medios al menos dos o tres veces por semana). Se caracteriza, así, el concepto de reputación en su asociación con medios de comunicación, identificándose los atributos integradores de la reputación mediática y valorando su incidencia en la reputación de cada medio. Los resultados indican que, aunque la televisión es el medio más usado, la prensa en papel goza de mayor reputación en la mayoría de los países analizados, apreciándose una destacada asociación de este medio con los atributos de credibilidad y rigor informativo. El artículo ofrece una detallada descripción de las valoraciones de cada atributo integrante de la reputación mediática en cada uno de los países analizados. Finalmente, se aporta un ranking de los medios que gozan de mayor reputación en los países europeos examinados, así como una descripción del posicionamiento reputacional de cada medio estudiado. Abstract Democracy is considered to be the ideal foundation of societies today. In a democratic society, news media play a highly relevant role as avenues by which public and political powers can interact with society and facilitate civic participation. The public’s perception of the news media’s reputation is a crucial factor for enhancing trust and citizen engagement. This article presents a study of the reputation of the media (paper press, digital press, radio and television) in ten European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. A quantitative method was applied to the results of a survey conducted to determine the reputation of news media among a sample of the informed population in those countries (1,000 residents of legal age who used media at least two or three times a week). The concept of reputation is thereby characterized in its association with the media, identifying its integrating attributes and assessing its incidence in each type of medium. The results indicate that, although television is the most widely used medium, the printed press enjoys a higher reputation in most of the countries studied, being seen as having the attributes of credibility and informative rigor. This study provides a detailed analysis of the scores given to media reputation attributes in the considered countries. It also offers a ranking of the media with the highest reputation in the countries examined, as well as a description of the reputational position of each medium.

Communication studies in Spain have now become consolidated based on their evolution over the last 50 years. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the current state of Spanish higher education in Communication. To this end, an analysis is carried out of the structure and composition of the undergraduate and postgraduate degrees (master and PhD studies) in Communication at public and private universities in Spain, paying special attention to the centers that host these studies, the people who contribute to their operation, and their offerings and distribution. Using a descriptive methodology and the content analysis technique, an analysis form is applied to the universities composing the system of Communication studies in Spain, based on their offerings and the information available and accessible on their institutional websites. The results reveal the difficulty of accessing such data and the lack of common criteria (or compliance) for presenting such information on official websites. The results reveal a greater offering at the national level but a wide dispersion of the higher education offering in terms of type, location, type of university, and territorial distribution. We also highlight the gender gap in terms of faculty leadership as well as among teaching staff. We emphasize the phenomenon of double or combined degrees, especially at private universities. Resumen Los estudios de Comunicación en España se consolidan como resultado de la evolución experimentada en 50 años. Se pretende mostrar una radiografía que permita conocer el estado actual de la educación superior española en esta materia. Para ello se ha realizado un análisis de la estructura y composición de los grados y posgrados (masters oficiales y doctorado) de Comunicación de las universidades públicas y privadas de España, prestando especial atención a los centros que acogen estos estudios, las personas que con su desempeño contribuyen a su funcionamiento, su oferta y distribución. Mediante un diseño metodológico exploratorio y descriptivo, a través de la técnica del análisis de contenido, se han revelado las variables de estudio a partir de la oferta e información disponible y accesible en las webs institucionales de las universidades que conforman el sistema español en esta materia. Se destaca la dificultad para acceder a los datos y la falta de criterios comunes (o cumplimiento de estos) para presentar la información sobre la oferta formativa oficial. Los resultados arrojan una mayor oferta formativa a nivel nacional, pero evidencian su dispersión en cuanto a tipo, oferta de plaza, tipo de universidad y distribución territorial. Destaca la brecha de género en los responsables de los centros y entre la plantilla de profesorado; y el fenómeno creciente de los grados dobles o combinados, sobre todo en los centros privados.

The concept of algorithmic political communication has arisen through the joint development of propaganda and communication theories, as well as the findings of computer science. This is a field that generates results that amplify and extend to political communication, such as microsegmentation or automated diffusion of content; likewise, it produces some adverse effects that hinder citizen participation in the cybersphere. This paper presents a review of works published in three Latin American countries (Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico) with artificial intelligence, communication, and democracy as their constituent elements. The data come from a total of 206 documents, including reports from supranational organisms and associations, and publications in scientific journals indexed in databases such as Google Scholar and Scopus between 2011 and 2021. The selection criterion is based on the total or partial appearance of certain keywords, plus filters by relevance and impact factors. This systematic review is structured based along four axes that explain democracy according to Landman et al. (2009): electoral participation, participation of civil society, media integrity, and impartial administration. The main conclusions indicate that many of the practices in the studied countries are still at an incipient or experimental stage, with algorithmic political communication being used especially during electoral campaigns. Similarly, an increasing resistance from civil society to the influence of social networks is starting to be detected.