Social media and fact-checking platforms against disinformation about COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an unprecedented health and com-munication crisis. Through digital platforms, there has been a huge circula-tion of false, inaccurate or decontextualized information about the corona-virus. Among them, it is worth mentioning the rumors, hoaxes and conspira-cy theories about (1) the origin, spread and lethality of the virus; (2) rec-ommendations and curative practices; and (3) management of the pandemic by public administrations and international organizations. In the current infodemic scenario, this research addresses how 8 fact-checking organiza-tions have used Twitter as a tool to combat disinformation in the times of COVID-19: Agência Lupa (Brazil), Chequeado (Argentina), Maldita.es and Newtral (Spain), ColombiaCheck (Colombia), Ecuador Check (Ecuador), El Sabueso - Animal Político (Mexico) and Cotejo (Venezuela). Between March and June 2020, these organizations have published on Twitter on a sus-tained basis, obtaining high engagement figures in the form of retweets and favorites. Multiple hashtags on COVID-19 have been included, including those tags promoted by LATAM Chequea and IFCN (#CoronaVirusFacts and #DatosCoronaVirus) and other generic hashtags aimed at the general public. The contents related to COVID-19 have been the most viralized by users.