The study, presented to ANID and led by Pedro Anguita, professor at the School of Communication of the Universidad de los Andes, will be presented in July 2025 at an international congress in Singapore.
In a global scenario marked by the growing circulation of fake news, manipulation campaigns and misleading content, electoral disinformation has become a phenomenon of priority interest for researchers around the world. In this context, the academic Pedro Anguitaa professor at the School of Communication of the Universidad de los Andes, is leading a research project that seeks to analyze the patterns of disinformation that circulated during the Chilean municipal and regional elections of October 27, 2024.
The project, entitled "Analysis of misinformation in the October 27, 2024 gubernatorial and mayoral general elections."was one of those awarded in the XVI Competition of the Fund for Studies on Pluralism in the National Information Systemorganized by the National Agency for Research and Development, ANID.
The team is also composed of the academic María José Labrador Blanesof the Universidad del Desarrollo, and has the collaboration of Mala Espina Checka media specialized in data verification and member of the International Fact Checking Networkwho will be in charge of identifying the contents to be analyzed.
Disinformation as an object of academic study
Unlike other more conjunctural approaches, this research addresses disinformation as a structural phenomenon that impacts democratic systems, information pluralism and the quality of public debate. Professor Anguita explained that one of the main objectives of the study is to identify the characteristics of the disinformation disseminated during the electoral process, to understand its narratives and to measure the scope of the exposed population.
The methodology used is based on the following analytical framework Foreign Information Manipulation and InterferenceFIMI, developed by the European External Action Service. This approach, originally designed to study information manipulation operations in Europe, has been adapted by researchers to the Chilean political and communicational context.
"Using the FIMI methodology allows us to classify different types of disinformation, establish patterns and recognize possible political or strategic purposes behind misleading content," said Anguita.
International projection of the study
The progress of this research will be presented in July 2025 at the Congress of the International Association for Media and Communication Research, IAMCRto be held in Singapore. This meeting is one of the main global academic spaces for reflection on contemporary challenges in communication, media and digital culture.
The presentation at IAMCR not only represents an opportunity to share the findings of the study, but also to position Chilean research in the international debate on the fight against disinformation and the need for solid analytical frameworks to understand how it works.
"Only through rigorous research and interdisciplinary collaborations will we be able to understand in depth how disinformation flows operate in our information systems and what impact they have on citizens," concluded Professor Anguita.