Professional perception of the journalistic sector about the effect of disinformation and fake news in the media ecosystem.

Disinformation and fake news are phenomena prior to the birth of social media, but with their consolidation they have become more visible and numerous, especially due to the ease of their creation and dissemination. Journalism has a fundamental mission as a shield against this problem and as a creator of truthful news and content, but for this it needs to maintain credibility among society, which is very inclined to doubt traditional media. This article investigates the perception that professional journalists have about the influence of these two phenomena --disinformation and hoaxes--, as well as content verification mechanisms --fact checking-- in the performance of the journalistic profession and its future evolution. The procedure chosen for data collection consisted of 20 interviews with journalists who currently practice the profession in Spain, with the aim of offering us a panoramic view of the actions of journalism against disinformation and fake news, as well as what their relationship with the audience. The results show a positive and firm attitude of the profession to fight against false news, claiming its professionalism, valuing the verification of the contents and the role of trusted information sources, and a critical vision in which it is put the focus on the need for both the media and viewers to put more effort and interest in being well informed. It is also recognized that we are facing a phenomenon that can only be partially solved given its complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]