- Priority Area Boosting Fact-checking Activities in Europe
- Funding Round / Action Types 2nd Funding Round – Scale-up Projects
- Year 2022, 2023
- Country Spain
- Project Status Completed
Detecting audio and video misinformation remains a difficult challenge among fact-checkers. Yet, hundreds of millions of people worldwide listen to podcasts and watch videos on streaming every day. Audiovisuals are a central source of information for people spanning across different regions and demographics, covering a vast array of issues and having a direct impact on public opinion. Podcasting in Spain has skyrocketed as reflected in data and surveys that place it as one of the countries in the world where podcasts have the most listeners. Science-related podcasts have increased their audience by 569%, while health and fitness-related by 343%. On the other hand, YouTube penetration in Spain is estimated at around 91.6% of the population in 2021. Nonetheless, Spanish fact-checkers, as well as other fact-checkers, still do not have enough tools to undertake systematic audio and video fact-checking in an efficient way. The project aims to serve as a pilot on how fact-checkers can integrate AI and speech-to-text technologies such as the Chequeado’s dashboard to speed up this project. It’s an 8-months long deep-dive into in the realms of YouTube and podcasting aiming to understand its disinformation narratives, expand the scope of our fact-checking outside the traditional channels, and pilot innovative forms of collaboration between fact-checkers and state-of-the-art technology providers that can be replicated and exported to other countries. “Scaling up Science Fact-checking in Podcasts and Videos” expands Verificat and Chequeado ongoing collaboration on climate misinformation in podcasting into other scientific issues, with a special focus on nutrition and fitness, health and energy, and expands the scope of the collaboration to Youtube channels. Thanks to this project, an additional 2.500 hours of podcasting and up to 5.000 hours of YouTube video will be monitored and fact-checked and thus increasing our understanding of dis- and misinformation in audio and video in Spain.
